Reading: A Sun's Devilish Maid
by Dylan Millwood
Summary: A story once attempted by pain17ification. Asked me to redo it. NO FLAMES!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone!**

 **So, some of you may (or may NOT) know that a fellow author (and my friend) pain17ification once tried to make this a Reading story...try his hand and see how well it worked out before deciding to do other Character Reading-type stories. Now...I recall it had a good number of positive supporters, and for those that DID support the idea, I thank you all for that as well as understanding what he did with the story was allowed and being open-minded enough to enjoy his project. Shame he took this down because he was branded a** **narcissist by nay-saying jerks who bitched and moaned about him breaking some idiotic "unwritten rule" about how you DON'T GET TO DO READING STORIES OF YOUR OWN WORKS ON THIS SITE so badly that he scrapped it. To those who felt my friend did that...YOU ALL SUCK AND RUINED IT FOR EVERYONE WHO ACTUALLY LIKED THIS! He made the story himself, what he chose to do with it like make a Reading out of it was his own business!**

 **That said** **, he turned to me to ressurect it for everyone who did indeed enjoy this story the first time and he cares about his fans on this site, so...with that in mind and without further ado, here's the return of the "Characters Reading" version of the Naruto/Grayfia story: _A Sun's Devilish Maid!_**

 **Please Note: I Own Nothing, and that pain17ification informed me he'd keep the base story two chapters ahead of the Reading version.**

* * *

"Before I send you off to try and deal with Madara," began Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, "I wanted to show you something that I found rather curious concerning you."

"Me?" asked Naruto Uzumaki with a raised brow.

"Well, to be more accurate, it involves a different reality's version of you. Why don't we take a look?" asked the Sage with a cryptic smile as the surroundings changed from a replica of Naruto's seal to a room similar to a Council Chamber. "An acquaintance of mine will bring our other guests. But for your side, I decided to keep the number of people small. So, why don't you welcome your fellow guests from your world?"

The blonde Uzumaki was beyond confused, but he complied and turned around. As soon as he did, he froze with his eyes wide at the sight of his parents. Both looked healthy and alive, as if they had never suffered the fate they had on the night of his birth. Indeed, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki looked to be in peak condition, and he showed his excitement at their arrival by bringing them both in for a powerful embrace.

"Mom! Dad! I can't believe you guys are here too!"

"Of course we are!" replied Kushina, matching the grin her son gave. "I wouldn't miss the chance to spend more time with my son, ttebane!"

Minato and Naruto both gave a chuckle at her verbal tic, but she ignored that in favor of her excitement. On the other side of the room, a group of individuals had arrived. Leading them was a petite girl with black hair, gray eyes, pointed ears, and an almost fully exposed chest (save for black x-shaped coverings over her nipples).

"Ophis-san," greeted Hagoromo. "A pleasure."

"Sage," she greeted in return, though it came off as stoic. "I've brought the Faction Leaders as you requested; though we had a couple of extra tag-alongs."

"That's fine." He then turned to the Uzumaki Family. "Your fellow guests consist of the leaders of the Devil Faction," the four Satans, along with a silverette woman in a maid's uniform, all nodded in greeting, "the Fallen Angels," a man with black hair that had blonde mixed in tipped his hat with a smirk, "the Angels," a pair of blondes, one man and one woman, both gave polite bows, "and the Youkai Leader." The woman with kitsune features gave a faint nod while her tails hid a smaller kitsune girl. "With them is the Void Dragoness, known simply as Ophis."

Naruto and his parents all gave simple waves in greeting. "Nice to meet you all," greeted the orange wearing blonde. "I'm Naruto, and these are my folks; Minato and Kushina."

Ophis gave a faint nod. "With me are Sirzechs Lucifer and his maid slash wife Grayfia, Ajuka Beelzebub, Falbium Asmodeus, and Serafall Leviathan of the Devil Faction. The Fallen Angel is known as Azazel while the Angels are Michael and Gabriel with the latter being the woman. Lastly is Yasaka, a Kyuubi and Youkai Leader along with her daughter Kunuo."

"Well, now that introductions are cleared, let's move on to why we're here," Hagoromo declared. "For you three," he pointed to the ninja family, "it's to see how young Naruto's life could have been with certain changes thrown in. For the rest of you, it's mainly to show you that, no matter what version of him it is, this young man can be a crucial factor in obtaining and preserving an elusive notion known simply as Peace."

"Peace?" asked Ajuka with a head scratch. "You can't be serious? Such a thing is impossble, and you expect us to believe that one human could make a big impact on it's discovery?"

"If you don't believe me, then read THIS," a large book with the Uzumaki Swirl surrounded by a snowflake on the cover landed on the sole table in the room. "I'll take my leave for now. I may be able to exist outside of time and space, but it still takes a toll on me to interfere with those who do not."

With that, he faded away while enough chairs for everyone were created thanks to Ophis. "Come. He's always been a cryptic one, even to me," she stated. "The only way to answer all of our questions is to just read this book. Would someone like to go first?"

"Ooh! Levia-tan will do it!" Serafall volunteered excitedly, and the book appeared in her lap in a flash. Floating above them all, as soon as she opened the cover, was a large sphere of smoke that showed nothing. "Okay, the story is called _A Sun's Devilish Maid_ by someone known simply as Pain."

"With an 'e' or with an 'a'?" asked Naruto, confusing many.

"An 'a'. Whoa, look!" she exclaimed, prompting everyone to see the story title in archaic script projecting to them within the smoke. "That's so cool! It's like we can see what we read!"

"Innovative, indeed," Ajuka praised. "Now we won't have to try and imagine it in our minds and can see everything for ourselves."

"Leviathan-san, if you would please read...?" Yasaka requested as Kunou sat in her lap. She absently noted that her daughter had yet to take her shy gaze away from the blonde young man with whiskered cheeks so similar to her species. _'Odd...'_

"Okay, here we go, _Chapter One: An Act of Kindness_..."

* * *

 **He had finally arrived. His heart was racing at how close he had been to getting caught, but he had still succeeded in making it to this place with the Sacred Scroll of the village. Now, all he had to do was wait for his teacher to arrive so that he could finally become a Genin.**

"Huh," Naruto cut in. "Guess it really is about me..."

 **Looking back towards the heart of the village, the young teen hummed thoughtfully. He had been able to get away nearly unseen, having to resort to a cheap – yet strangely effective – tactic against the Hokage. Who knew the kind old man the village looked up to for wisdom and guidance was also a pervert?**

"How shameful," Michael commented with a headshake.

"Ah, what's wrong with appreciating the opposite gender and _all_ of their features?" asked Azazel with a grin. "What's wrong, Goldie Locks? So prudish about that because you play for the other team?" he snickered.

Both Michael and Gabriel when red and started sputtering how that WASN'T the case at all, amusing everyone else before Serafall started reading again.

 **Still, he didn't feel like belittling his good fortune. And it was still pretty early until the allotted time he was supposed to meet his teacher. Pulling the scroll off of his back, his blue eyes looked to it in a scrutinizing manner. What was so important about this particular scroll?**

"Well for starters, it's our village's most valued possession," Minato explained.

"And yet your son at such a young age was able to pilfer it so easily?" Yasaka queried in amusement. "How tricky..."

Minato and Kushina didn't know whether to be embarrassed or proud of their son for his " _success_."

 **His curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it to take a peek. The first thing he saw was a jutsu; a technique that ninja were able to use. It was a clone technique, and he pouted at the sight. After all, it was a clone technique that he failed to do, which is why he was taking this make up test.**

 **But, he gave it a closer look. Unlike the one taught in the Academy, this clone technique made solid clones and required a greater deal of chakra; the energy that ninja used and everyone had within them. It amazed him that it only required a single handseal, which was in the form of crossed fingers in an addition symbol.**

"So chakra isn't just restricted to Youkai in your world," Sirzechs noted. "You ninja must be quite powerful having such an energy source to utilize."

 **Giving it a try, he copied the illustration of the handseal and concentrated, bringing out his chakra while whispering, "Shadow Clone Jutsu."**

 **A faint popping sound was heard and he kept his eyes closed. He had little hope that it had worked, which was why he had also whispered instead of declaring the jutsu. Cracking open one of his eyes, he took note of a perfect copy sitting across from him. Both of his eyes opened fully as he took in his own copied appearance.**

 **From the feet up, he saw blue ninja sandals, orange pants that were quite large and held together by a black belt, an equally orange shirt with blue on the shoulders and a thick white collar, and the swirled tassel that old man Hokage had given to him when he first started the Academy. On the copy's face, he saw his whisker birth markings, bright blue eyes with a hint of violet in them, and his sunny blonde hair that spiked erratically. The copy was perfect, right down to the smudge mark he had earned earlier that day on his chin.**

"I mean no offense to you, Uzumaki-san," Grayfia began, "but I believe that you're wearing an excessive amount of that color."

"None taken, I guess. But, it's my favorite color, and it helped people notice me. I wasn't exactly well liked back then..." replied the young man, getting somber looks from his parents while everyone else, save Ophis, looked concerned.

 **"Whoa," he gasped. "It worked?"**

 **"Looks like it, Boss," the clone replied, poking the original to prove it was solid. "That was easy."**

 **"But why did this clone come out easier than the Academy one?"**

 **The clone shrugged. "No clue."**

"You could blame our Uzumaki heritage for that one," Kushina answered. "We have a more potent chakra than others, so lower ranked techniques are actually harder for us to get since they require a degree of control; one that we can't achieve thanks to our chakra potency."

At that, both Yasaka and Kunuo both nodded. The explanation made perfect sense to them.

 **They would've continued to speak, but a sudden crashing sound and heavy thud caught their attention. Without a second's hesitation, both the teen and his clone rushed over to where they thought the source was. Once they arrived, both of them had shocked and concerned looks on their faces.**

"Wonder what I found," Naruto mused aloud.

* * *

"How convenient," noted Gabriel with a smile as she read over Serafall's shoulder. "A line break to show a change of perspective."

Serafall scowled at her rival. While she was seen as a childish girl who always dressed in a magical girl's uniform, before she'd turned into her younger form and started acting cheerful and childlike as a way of dealing with the PTSD of the Great Biblical War, Serafall was the most beautiful devil in the underworld that could even rival that of Gabriel. Furthermore, the two were dead even in battle against one another and it had always ended in a standstill between them. Even now with the cease-fire peace between the three Factions, she still had dreams of snapping Gabriel's wings off, one at a time...

"Stop leaning over my shoulder, Gabriel." she said.

The angelic woman blinked, then leaned back into her seat, "Sorry."

Huffing, the bearer of the title of Leviathan resumed reading.

 **She winced as she held her side, putting pressure on a gash she had earned from an opposing devil. With narrowed eyes, she sent a burst of power at her opponent, freezing the devil in place before she destroyed the frozen statue it had become.**

The Devils all turned to Grayfia when they saw her from the smokescreen. The story had her in it, too?

 **It was civil war in the Underworld and she had chosen to join the side that held fresh faces. The Four Satans were being pushed back by the younger devils, having grown complacent during their reign. Leading the younger devils was a man named Sirzechs who the woman believed would become a great Satan.**

"He did," assured Grayfia before her expression became deadpan. "If only he would focus on his new responsibilities instead of his obsession with Rias-sama..."

Sirzechs scratched his cheek with an awkward chuckle while Ophis decided to clarify for the three humans. "Rias is his younger sister."

 **The battle was nearly over and all but Lucifer had been defeated. She winced again and stumbled slightly, keeping her balance as she moved over to her comrades. Her vision was growing dim and she couldn't hear what was being said, but she could still feel the energy in the air, and it was growing. She forced her eyes open wider as she saw Lucifer pull out a strange crystal with a glowing core, and she grew concerned at the grin on the Satan's face.**

"That wasn't how it happened in our time," Sirzechs informed, frowning at the crystal.

 **Seeing that everyone else was on their last legs, she knew that the chances of evading whatever that crystal was were dropping. So, when Lucifer finally threw the crystal – his target being Sirzechs – her mind forced her body to act. She summoned her devil wings, having them flap as hard as they could so that she could fly towards the young devil leader and shove him out of the way.**

 **The look of shocked surprise on his face was equal to that of Lucifer, and no one was able to do a thing as the crystal exploded right in front of the devil woman and engulfed her in swirling colored smoke. The swirling grew in force, become a maelstrom that pushed everyone back, and when it cleared…she was gone.**

 **The next thing she knew was being flung across a sea of swirling colors and lights, nearly blinding her while the pull of the space kept her from struggling. A bright light was seen, getting bigger as she approached and her eyes were forced closed as it engulfed her.**

 **Once the light died down, she felt her body hit and break through some tree branches before finally landing on a grassy field with a heavy thud. The rough landing had proved to be the last straw, and she fell unconscious.**

"Damn... Sacrificing yourself like that so that your side would win the day," Naruto stated while nodding to Grayfia in respect. "You're definitely a devoted person, Grayfia."

"I do all that I must for my people," she answered simply, though she was a bit pleased at her actions being respected.

* * *

 **The teen took note of the strangely dressed woman that was beaten and bloody lying on the ground, with a particularly deep cut on her side. Wary, he and his clone stood next to her and pulled out kunai knives, scanning the area visually for any sign of an assailant. For a full and tense minute, they kept their eyes peeled before slowly relaxing their guards. Whoever had attacked this woman wasn't around anymore, if at all.**

"Looking out for a random stranger?" Azazel asked with a raised brow. "What if it was a trap?"

"I wouldn't have known," answered the Uzumaki, frowning at the Fallen Angel. "All I was worried about was the hurt person in front of me."

 **Turning back to her, he saw that her breathing was heavy, as if she was struggling to draw breath. His concern grew and it overshadowed his desire to wait for his teacher. However, he couldn't take the scroll with him since it would be taken the wrong way.**

"Trust me, son, you're already on thin ice by this point," Minato stated while his son looked sheepish.

 **"Hey, wait here for Mizuki-sensei to show up," he ordered his clone, handing the scroll over to it. "I'm gonna take this woman back home to try and patch her up."**

 **The clone nodded as it took the scroll. "Don't forget about the extra emergency kit you have stored underneath the floorboards, Boss. You're gonna need it."**

"At least the story has that emergency kit in it too. That was useful on so many occasions..." Naruto commented.

 **Nodding, the original blonde crouched down and hefted the woman over his shoulders, making sure not to jostle her too much. He then made so her arms draped over his shoulders and her head was resting against the back of his while his arms grabbed her legs to support her. Using chakra to keep up his strength, he hurried home to treat her wounds, hoping that she would make it.**

* * *

 **To the clone the teen had left behind, the last half hour had been a surreal time of revelation.**

"I can see where this is going..." Naruto winced.

 **To start things off, his Academy teacher, Iruka Umino, had found him and berated him for stealing the Sacred Scroll. The clone had then told the man that he had done so because Mizuki had told him it was part of a makeup exam so that he could become a Genin. He even went further and said that he was a Shadow Clone and that the original was doing something more crucial.**

"I'm glad that you put the well-being of someone in need over your own desires, sweetheart," Kushina praised, making Naruto blush bashfully while the adults chuckled.

 **Before Iruka could've questioned him further, Mizuki had shown up. What followed was the revelation of the Kyuubi, a nine-tailed fox that had attacked the village years ago, was sealed into him.**

Yasaka and Kunou both had their eyes wide at that.

 **The clone couldn't help but freeze at that, but Iruka had grown furious with Mizuki for dropping such a bomb on his student and attacked Mizuki with a level of skill he hadn't used since his days as an active Chunin.**

"Well, at least Iruka-sensei didn't take a giant shuriken to the back in this story..." Naruto sighed, relieved.

 **With Mizuki taken care of thanks to the ANBU arriving on the scene, Iruka and the clone were taken to the office of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the village. This is where the clone had found himself now, sitting before the village leader with a new headband resting in his lap.**

 **"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Naruto," apologized the elderly man to the clone. "I had planned to tell you in a more suitable environment, but what's done is done."**

"Something tells me that the old geezer wouldn't have told you until your graduated," Kushina commented with a frown.

 **The clone of Naruto Uzumaki was silent for a few moments before he asked softly, "Why me?"**

 **Hiruzen sighed at that. "I wish I could tell you. How are you taking this; knowing that you're a Jinchuriki?"**

"Dammit," Minato cursed.

"What is it, Namikaze-san?" Michael asked in concern.

"It's the same thing again... Our son won't be hearing how we're his parents and _why_ we had to seal the fox-"

"Kurama," interjected Naruto.

"Right, sorry. He won't know why we had to seal Kurama into him," finished Minato. "He deserved to know, but the truth was hidden from him because of past grudges and fear."

The Angels looked sympathetic at that, having felt the purity the family had in their hearts. For the child to not know of his parents, and to have inevitable thoughts run through his mind...it was depressing at the very least.

 **"Honestly…I don't know what to feel, old man. I mean, I now know _why_ I'm always getting these dirty looks and whispered insults. I thought it was something that I did; not because I was holding back the being that nearly destroyed our home."**

"So that's what you meant earlier," Serafall noted, stopping her reading to make her own comment. "Humans can be so cruel and stupid...you saved their lives just by being born in the first place, you'd think they'd be more mindful of that fact..."

"That may be, but I've forgiven them a long time ago," Naruto explained, earning pleased smiles from the Angels. "It's not in me to hold onto grudges or hate..."

 **"If you need to talk more about this, then you can always come to me. Alright?"**

 **Nodding the clone was about to leave before he remembered something important.**

"You almost forgot about my wife?" joked Sirzechs, earning a fan smack to the top of his head from Grayfia.

 **"Old man, before Iruka-sensei showed up, Boss and I found this woman unconscious nearby. From what we saw, she was in a really tough fight and crashed through a few branches before we found her."**

 **Sarutobi's eyes widened in surprise. "Did you see who or what did that to her?"**

 **"No, when we got there she was by herself. Boss took her back to his apartment to patch her up before he left me behind with the Sacred Scroll."**

 **The Hokage nodded. "Then we better see how this woman is doing," he stated before he moved over to the blonde teen, placing a hand on his head before both of them disappeared in a burst of smoke.**

"I wonder how that human will take meeting a Devil," mused Falbium.

* * *

 **"Dammit," cursed the original Naruto as he carefully wove a needle and dissolvable thread through the woman's skin, stitching up the deep gash. "Whatever cut into your side nearly reached your muscle…"**

The Devils frowned at that.

 **He then grabbed two sturdy pieces of wood and tied them tightly around her left forearm. "Some scrapes and bruises…a deep cut into your side…a cracked arm," he placed the back of his hand against her forehead and cringed, "and a high temperature. By the kami, what the hell happened to you?"**

"War happened, Uzumaki-san," Grayfia answered. "It's not something-"

"Trust me, Grayfia; I know _all about_ war, but I wish I didn't," cut off Naruto with a deep frown. "I know the damage it can bring... If there's one thing I could hate, it would be war..."

Minato and Kushina both nodded with understanding frowns while the others had different reactions. The Devils all shared their own frowns at his statement, Azazel looked intrigued with the young man, and the Angels looked saddened that he had to experience something so horrible at such a young age. Ophis merely raised a brow, but did nothing more.

 **He had been at this ever since he had arrived at his apartment, laying the woman down on a mattress so that he could clean up her wounds and patch her up. Her breathing had gotten worse when he had arrived, and he frantically worked to do whatever he could to help ease her pain.**

 **Thankfully, her breathing had gotten better over the time he worked on her, but her temperature was still above normal, and it was worrying him. He changed the water he had been using to dampen her forehead, making sure it was cold before he dabbed it again.**

 **Once that was done, he sighed tiredly and nearly collapsed in the chair that he had set near where she rested. He rubbed his face in a feeble attempt to stay awake, the lateness of the evening and his dying, worry-filled adrenaline taking its toll on him.**

"It's nice to know that you can patch someone up in a pinch," Gabriel noted, smiling at Naruto. "Sometimes even the smallest things make the biggest differences."

 **Taking this moment, he looked to his "patient" closer, noting her features. She had long and cascading silver hair that would've reached her lower back if she was standing, flawless skin that was a stunning pale (though not sickly), and a gorgeous figure that was being covered by a bodysuit that had been ripped, scorched, scuffed, and torn. The bodysuit itself was black in coloration with blue swirling designs on it, and it had thicker material in certain areas, making him deduce that it was some form of armor.**

"I don't remember seeing you Devils wear armor like that," Azazel commented, studying the suit.

Sirzechs however gave the Fallen Angel an annoyed look. "Please stop staring so intently at my wife's image."

 **While he didn't know what color her eyes were, everything else had shown Naruto that, whoever this injured stranger was, she was a woman who could be the epitome of beauty without even trying.**

Naruto blushed at that, sharing the same thoughts as his counterpart.

 **He was glad that he had been able to stay focused enough to wrap her chest in bandages from behind. Never in his life had he been in a situation where a woman needed to be stripped of her clothing, so it was extremely awkward for him to have to dress her injuries with her chest open for him to see.**

"I appreciate you having the decency not to be distracted by my body," Grayfia stated in thanks.

"It would've been hard if I had to do it in my own world," Naruto admitted. "I'm human, so I have flaws that I can admit to; and it'd be hard not to be distracted by a beautiful woman."

Grayfia had a faint smile at the compliment while Sirzechs chuckled at the young man's honest response.

 **"Just what the hell did you go through?" he asked softly to her resting form as his fight to stay awake ended up in his loss.**

* * *

 **Grayfia Lucifuge gradually became aware of herself as consciousness returned. Slowly opening her eyes that were the same stunning silver as her hair, she brought her hand up to shield them from the harshness of the light that was invading them – an act which brought a wince of pain from her side. Bringing her other hand to her side and favoring it gingerly, she felt stitches in the painful area. She looked down to her side, noticing that the sutures were very well-sewn. She also noticed that she was naked, at least from the waist up with her chest bound in bandaged wrappings. Her injured arm had also been treated and a splint was placed around it to keep it straight.**

"No doubt I would be concerned with my new location and my treated wounds," Grayfia commented.

 **She took a look around to get her bearings in this unfamiliar place. She was in what looked like a rundown bedroom if the peeled paint and patches on the walls were any indicator. She then looked downward towards the side where her stitches were, and she saw that she wasn't alone. Sleeping in a chair next to the bed was a young blonde boy wearing an orange track-suit of some kind, his sleeves and hands covered in blood. Seeing no injuries on his person, she could only conclude that the blood was hers.**

 ** _'Is he the one who helped me? This young boy?'_ she wondered.**

"I'm still impressed that you could do something like this without panicking. Even professional healers can let their emotions cloud judgment during a recovery operation," Michael said.

 **She slowly rose from the bed so as not to further aggravate her injuries, placing her feet on the floor and standing up. She noticed that she was indeed mostly naked from the waist up, as her panties were still on and the wrappings on her chest were nicely made. It relieved her to know that she had not been taken advantage of, and immediately the level of esteem for her young physician rose several notches. She slowly turned her head to face him, taking note of how deeply he was sleeping, and she couldn't help but smile gratefully.**

"I truly am grateful, Uzumaki-san; even if it isn't really me that you aided," Grayfia thanked.

 ** _'You really pushed yourself, didn't you? Just to help a complete stranger to whom you owe nothing…'_ she mused at the blonde teen whose head was rolled back in the chair, asleep with his mouth wide open.**

"Aww, such a sweetie...he's all tuckered out from taking care of her!" Serafall teased with a giggle and a wink at the actual boy among the reading group while Naruto fought the embarrassed blush that threatened to show.

 **She couldn't help but giggle at how utterly cute and adorable he looked, especially with those lovely foxlike whisker markings on his cheeks. She quietly stepped toward him and stopped when she was standing just above him. She brought her uninjured hand to his face, brushing back a few stray locks of hair and caressing his cheek with her fingertips. She bent down slowly, her side once more reminding her that it was injured, and kissed his cheek softly.**

 **"Thank you," she whispered to him softly. "Never before has anyone ever been so selflessly kind to me."**

Most of the non-human readers all looked surprised at Grayfia's counterpart's actions. She was usually so professional! She must have really been thankful.

 **Standing back up, she looked around the room and saw the entrance to his bathroom. She went in there and found a small bucket, some soap and a couple of small towels. Filling the bucket with warm water and soap, she brought the towels and the soapy water back into the bedroom where she proceeded to gently remove the bloodstained jacket that the boy was wearing.**

 **"Let's clean you up before putting you to bed," she said quietly as she proceeded to dip one of the towels into the soapy water and give him a sponge bath to remove the caked blood from his hands and forearms. Once she was done and the blonde was dried off, she removed the blood-soaked linens from his bed and went into the main living area of his dwelling, not paying much attention to the space as a whole while opening closets in search of a change of bedsheets. She frowned when she found none; though she did find a blanket to cover him with.**

"Thank you for that," Naruto said to the silverette Devil, to which she inclined her head.

 **Returning to the bedroom, she concentrated and used her magic to levitate him from the chair and into the bed that she had just been occupying, removing his footwear and his pants, leaving him in just his boxer shorts and an undershirt. Once she had laid him in the bed, she covered him with the blanket she had found. Smiling at him again, she leaned down once more and kissed his forehead gently.**

 **"Sleep well, my savior. Sweet dreams," she whispered softly, wishing him a good night before gathering what was left of her clothing, turning the bedroom light off and leaving the room, leaving the door only slightly ajar.**

"Well, she would need to be able to hear if he woke up," Gabriel said in understanding.

 **She dressed herself as best she could, considering the state her clothes were in, and took a moment this time around to study the rest of the boy's dwelling. It was a small apartment that looked to be only three rooms: a kitchen/living area hybrid room, a small bathroom, and a single bedroom. The living room and kitchen looked to be in as poor a shape as the bedroom was, with damaged floors and walls, tape over cracks in the windows, and dust covering many various spots. But, there were a couple of things that showed that the young man had tried to liven up the apartment: a couple of potted plants and a handful of pictures on a worn out table placed against a windowsill.**

"Ah, home sweet home," Naruto commented, though everyone heard his sarcastic undertone. "Though, I can't complain too much, right? At least I _had_ a home, unlike less fortunate people..."

The adults all nodded in agreement at his slightly mature response. However, Kunou frowned cutely. "Kaa-chan, why is Naruto-nii living in that place?"

Naruto choked on his spit at the sudden new title while Yasaka brushed her daughter's head. "Because humans have trouble with moving on."

 ** _'Does he live here by himself, and at his age? Does he not have any family?'_ she mused with a concerned expression as she looked to the pictures the young man had.**

"He does have a family!" Kushina shouted, upset at how her son had lived in both the story and in real life.

 **There were three in total and the first showed him, though younger, with an elderly man inside of an office. The boy was wearing a diamond-shaped hat that was much too big for him, smiling brightly for the camera while the elderly man had a content look on his face.**

"I remember that day! Old Man Hokage invited me into his office for the day and I asked to wear his hat," Naruto reminisced with a fond smile. "I had nothing to really worry about back then..."

 **She had a small smile at the sight, seeing pure happiness in the boy's blue orbs before moving to the next picture. This one was of the young man again, slightly older than how he looked in the first picture, sitting at a small food stand with two other people. The first was a man reaching his middle-ages and a young girl a few years older than the blonde boy. All three of them were smiling and the woman took note of a message written in the corner. " _To Naruto, our favorite customer_ " it said and was signed by the two other people.**

"Well, at least you got to meet Teuchi-oji-san," Kushina noted with a smile. "You enjoy his ramen too, Naruto-kun?"

"You kidding?!" he asked back with a laugh. "My blood is probably made of his broth by this point!"

Both of them shared a laugh while Minato shook his head in amusement.

 ** _'So your name is Naruto?'_ she mused, pleased to finally have a name to match him with, before moving to the final picture. This one had the teen in his current age alongside a woman with violet hair styled in a manner that made her think of a peacock's plumes, wearing a large tan trench coat.**

"Huh... Guess this version of me met the Snake Lady earlier in his life..."

 **Both of them were grinning so wide that their eyes were closed as they were covered in splotches of various paint colors. Behind them was a large mountain with four carved faces on it, each one with a different form of painted mischief on it. She giggled in amusement at the image.**

Naruto and Kushina laughed at the defaced monument while Minato palmed his face in embarrassment. Serafall and Kunou also laughed while chuckles came from the other Satans and Azazel. Michael shook his head in amusement as Gabriel stifled her own giggle. Yasaka merely gave a smirk while Grayfia and Ophis both sighed at the two pranksters in the story.

 **Another note was on this one. " _Gaki, I had a blast with you. Hope to do it again sometime. -Anko_ " the note had said, and it showed that the two had a close relationship. The small smile that was on her face never left as she went through the pictures, seeing how happy the teen was in each one.**

 **However, a part of her realized that he was most likely an orphan and these few moments of happiness seemed to be the only ones worth commemorating. Such a realization filled her with pity for him, and she wondered what the rest of his early life had been like.**

"I appreciate that you feel that way about my situation, but save your pity," Naruto declared, making sure to direct the final part of it to everyone in the room. "Pity won't do anything for me other than piss me off. I got by in life just fine, so just save it."

No one could respond to that.

 **Feeling as though she was snooping, she moved away from the pictures and to the kitchen, looking around before she found some cleaning supplies underneath his sink. It wasn't much, but at least it was something, and it provided her with a way that she could begin to express her gratitude to the young boy who had just saved her life.**

 **With a satisfied nod, she grabbed a sponge, the bucket, and the cleaning solution before she got to work.**

"A maid until the end, eh Fia-tan?" Serafall said, hoping to spark a reaction. She pouted when the maid didn't even blink.

* * *

 **When Sarutobi and Naruto's clone had arrived, it was right outside of the blonde Uzumaki's apartment. Sarutobi was about to knock to let the original Naruto know he was there, but the clone took the initiative and opened the door before walking in.**

 **What greeted them was the sight of a gorgeous silverette woman in a damaged black and blue bodysuit cleaning up the apartment with a calm face. When she heard the door open, she turned her gaze to it and was slightly surprised to see an exact copy of the blond teen that had helped her along with the elderly man that she remembered from Naruto's first photograph, in his same white and red robes and diamond-shaped hat.**

 ** _'Is he a twin?_ ' she thought to herself before shaking it off and giving both of them a respectful bow in greeting.**

"To someone not familiar with chakra, it'd definitely seem that way," mused Minato.

 **"Uh, should you be up and about?" asked the clone in concern. "You were really banged up when I found you."**

 **Standing straight with a hidden wince of pain, she answered, "I'm well enough to walk around and clean, as you can see. Your brother did very well to patch me up, and he has my thanks."**

 **"Brother?" The clone tilted his head in query before realization hit, "Oh, you mean Boss! No, we're not brothers; I'm a chakra made clone of him."**

 ** _'Chakra? This boy can use chakra to this degree?'_ She was honestly surprised since chakra users were said to be quite a rarity. She then took a closer look at them, and hid her surprise at the sheer level of chakra both humans had. "I see," she began before greeting him once more. "Then welcome home, Naruto-sama."**

"Say what now?" Naruto cut in, caught off guard at the title.

 **"Eh?" the clone asked while Sarutobi cleared his throat.**

 **"Ma'am, I'm Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage and leader of this village. Would you mind if we sit down so I can ask you some questions?"**

 **She nodded in understanding, putting down the cleaning supplies in her hands and moving to the table. Sarutobi took note of how she made sure he and Naruto's clone were seated first before sitting down. "I'll answer whatever I can, Hokage-sama, but I must point out now that my answers may seem confusing, if not unbelievable to you."**

"No kidding..." the three ninja all commented as one.

 **"I'll be the judge of that. Firstly, who are you and how did you end up with enough wounds to prompt Naruto-kun to take care of you in his own home?"**

 **She easily detected suspicion in his tone, alongside the look he gave her. Though elderly, for a human, this man was not one to underestimate.**

"I learned that firsthand when he helped Jiraiya-sensei get me ready for the Hokage position," Minato noted, rubbing his arm where he remembered a nasty bruise had been made back then.

 **"I am Grayfia Lucifuge, a devil allied to the New Faction that was formed to usurp the regime of the Four Satans led by Lucifer," she answered calmly and in a serious tone.**

 **Both Sarutobi and Naruto's clone blinked before the blonde asked, "What's a devil?"**

 **"Devils are the inhabitants of the Underworld, and we're seen as enemies of the Biblical God."**

 **"So, you're a being of darkness?" Sarutobi asked with a raised brow.**

"Not necessarily," Falbium informed.

 **"It's not quite that simple, but that is how humans tend to categorize us, yes. However, the New Faction was formed so that we could put an end to such biased thoughts. The leader of our faction, Sirzechs Gremory-sama, was planning on making attempts to come to terms with the other factions as well. Seeing as there'd be unnecessary bloodshed, there was hope for at least a ceasefire between us, the angels, and the fallen angels," Grayfia explained, seeing the clone's interested look while Sarutobi was sitting calmly.**

"I'd be interested too if I was there," Naruto confessed.

 **"I'm assuming then that your wounds were from the battle that was taking place?" Sarutobi asked, to which she nodded. "Then how did you arrive here?"**

 **"Lucifer planned to use something against Sirzechs-sama in a last ditch effort, but I was able to push him out of the way and took the hit from it instead. The next thing I experienced was flying through a strange space of distorting colors and lights before crashing down in a forest. I vaguely recall hitting some branches before passing out. Once I woke up, I saw that my wounds were patched up by Naruto-sama, and he did quite well, I must say," she finished with a nod towards the clone.**

"Praise from a pretty lady at such a young age," teased Azazel with a chuckle. "You must be proud of your lady-killer son."

Kushina huffed at the idea of some woman "stealing" her child while Minato chuckled awkwardly. He was just glad that Jiraiya wasn't here with these admittedly beautiful women. Naruto was of the same sentiment as his father; though he also fought down a sad look at the thought of his late master.

 **"Where is Boss, anyway?" the clone asked.**

 **"He's resting in bed. He had fallen asleep due to exhaustion, so I set him on his bed and admittedly looked around this apartment before I found those cleaning supplies," she answered, taking a short glance at the sponge and bucket. "I thought I might begin to express my gratitude to Naruto-sama by doing some chores on his behalf, and as I was doing that, the two of you walked in."**

 **"Do you have a way to return to wherever it is you came from?" asked Sarutobi, "And how can you prove you're a devil as you claim?"**

 **Instead of a vocal response, she answered his second question by revealing her black leathery wings. Along with this was a small flux of her power, letting both men feel its darker nature.**

"Yeah, if that doesn't prove her claim, I'm not sure what would," Naruto stated with a sweatdrop.

 **"I presume that is proof enough of my claim?" she asked in return, making both of them nod while Naruto's clone looked a bit awed. "As for returning home, I have no means at my disposal and I do not know if I will find any. For all intents and purposes, I'm stranded, here."**

"Ouch," Azazel cut in.

 **The clone felt for her and immediately spoke up before Sarutobi could say anything. "Well, if you need a place to stay, then you're more than welcome to live here."**

 **"Naruto, I'm not sure that-" the Hokage tried to say, but the blonde continued.**

 **"No one else lives in this building, so it's basically mine. You can have one of the rooms to yourself if you want!" The smile on his face showed the other two that he believed that the problem was solved.**

Gabriel smiled brightly at the blonde Uzumaki. Story form or not, she could tell that he truly was this kind-hearted and it endeared her to him.

 **Grayfia gave a grateful smile to him, one that made him blush at the beauty of it. "Thank you, Naruto-sama. I can accept that arrangement."**

 **Sarutobi finally got a word in. "Naruto, you actually won't be living in this apartment anymore."**

"Huh?" the Uzumaki Family asked as one.

 **That earned the elderly man a confused look from his charge while the she-devil silently watched the exchange. "What do you mean, old man?"**

 **"What I mean is this," the Hokage said as he pulled out a scroll that had the blonde's name on it. "This, Naruto-kun, is everything that you've inherited from your parents."**

"Wait, so I _do_ learn about you guys early on? Sweet!" cheered Naruto. Kushina and Minato both had relieved smiles on their faces.

 **"My parents?!" he asked in shock while Grayfia took that as confirmation that he was orphaned. "I thought you said you didn't know them?!"**

 **"I had to say that because that was the terms of agreement the Clan Heads, my personal council, and I made after their death. You see Naruto, you're far more important than you were grown to believe, and not just because of what you hold."**

 ** _'What he holds?'_ mused Grayfia before her eyes moved to the slightly opened door of the bedroom. Reaching out, she took a second feel for his power and moved past the chakra he naturally had. What she felt stunned her, for it was a heavy energy that was not his; but alongside that was a bright sliver of power that was deeply linked to the blonde. _'What is that?'_**

"Wow... You actually felt my connection to Ashura before I could even _think_ about him," Naruto noted in slight awe.

At the confused looks of everyone else, Ophis once again decided to explain. "Ashura was the younger son of Hagoromo and was chosen as his successor due to believing in Love over Power. Naruto-san is his latest reincarnation."

That caught everyone, save for Naruto since he already knew, by surprise.

 **Unaware of what Grayfia was doing, Sarutobi continued, "You see, your mother was the last member of the Uzumaki Clan that lived in this village. Due to their village's destruction and their near genocide, this makes you heir to the clan here in the Leaf Village."**

 **The clone had a look of utter shock on his face. "I'm… I'm an heir?" he asked softly, disbelief flooding his tone.**

 **"That's correct. In fact, since you've become a ninja, you now have a seat available to you on the Clan Council, alongside Sasuke and the Uchiha Clan's seat.**

"Damn... Talk about moving up in life..." Kushina commented, pleased that her son would be in a better position in this story.

 **Your mother was an active member in many meetings and a lot of her ideas became incorporated into the village's system. As for your father…"**

"I don't like that pause," Minato stated with a frown.

 **"Forgive me for interrupting," cut in the she-devil, "but am I correct to assume that he is related to someone associated with the Hokage seat?"**

 **The two men turned to her, one in confusion and the other in suspicion. "And how have you come by this conclusion?"**

 **She stood up from her seat, moved over to the table that had the three pictures, and brought over the one that had Naruto at his youngest. Pointing to a specific spot in the picture, the two saw her finger directed at a frame at the end of the office wall that held a portrait of a blonde man.**

 **"The similarities between Naruto-sama and that man are practically impossible to miss. The only differences I can see are his whisker markings and the shape of his face; which I will assume matches his mother," answered the woman calmly.**

"HA! Try and talk you way outta THAT, geezer!" Kushina exclaimed in triumph.

 **"Hold on," the clone began, looking closer at the picture. "That's…the Fourth Hokage! The Fourth was my dad?!" he asked in shock. "My dad sealed the Kyuubi into me?!"**

 ** _'A Kyuubi?!'_ thought a surprised silverette.**

"She has every right to be surprised," Yasaka commented. "Very few kitsune gain enough power to become Kyuubi; and even fewer are born into the position like my daughter was."

"So, if she's a Kyuubi, then she's really powerful, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, but I'm teaching her how to better control her power."

"Kaa-chan says that power is nothing if you can't stop it from hurting an ally," Kunou recited, earning a smile from her mother.

 ** _'If he holds a Kyuubi, then that would explain the heavier presence within him. But what was that other power that was deeper down?'_**

 **Sighing, the Third nodded in confirmation. "Yes, the Fourth Hokage was named Minato Namikaze…and he was indeed your father after Kushina Uzumaki, your mother, gave birth to you." The man then pulled out a small picture and handed it to the clone.**

 **Looking at it, Naruto's clone was already fighting tears while Grayfia, driven by curiosity, stepped up behind his seat to take a look. In the picture, there was Minato without his famous flamed cloak. He was smiling brightly at the camera and hugging a redheaded woman from behind. Said woman was stunningly beautiful, and Grayfia would've mistaken her for a Gremory if she hadn't already heard the Uzumaki name. Her slightly rounded face was matched by Naruto, and in the photo she had a noticeable bump in her stomach; proof that she was pregnant with Naruto at the time the picture was taken.**

 **"Dad…" whispered the clone. When he looked at his mother's beautiful smile, a tear rolled down his face. "Mom…"**

Like his counterpart, Naruto had tears form in the corners of his eyes. Even if they were right here next to him, seeing their first "family photo" tugged at his heart. Kushina and Minato took note of this and hugged their child.

 **Sensing his need for support, Grayfia gently placed her uninjured hand on his shoulder and gently gripped it. He turned to her and she offered him a small smile, one that he returned before he gingerly put the photo on the table, as if it was made of glass.**

"Thanks..." Naruto said in a slightly more subdued tone. Grayfia offered a faint smile in response.

 **"Thank you for giving me this, old man," gratefully stated the Uzumaki. "But, what happens now? The Clan Heads and your council obviously know about my parentage, so what does that mean for me?"**

 **"It means that you're now within your right to live in your parent's estate, which was declared to be the Uzumaki Compound by myself and my council."**

 **"Can Grayfia-chan come with me?" he asked, surprising the woman at both his request and the affectionate suffix added to her name.**

"You'd be surprised at how often he did that," Minato commented with a chuckle. "He had either a suffix or a nickname for practically everyone he met in his life."

 **"I want her to have a place to stay if she's stuck here."**

 **An idea sprang into her mind and she spoke up. "Hokage-sama," she began, getting both of their attention, "I request citizenship here in your village, along with the opportunity to serve as Naruto-sama's personal maid."**

"Say what?!" Naruto and Sirzechs both exclaimed in shock; though only the Satan received a bop to the head for the outburst.

 **That declaration earned her a raised brow from the Hokage while Naruto's clone looked surprised. "Y-You don't need to be my maid, Grayfia-chan," he tried to assure her, not wanting her to feel like she owed him anything.**

 **"I appreciate the concern and care you've both given and offer to me, Naruto-sama, but this is a request I wish to see fulfilled."**

 **"Explain," replied Sarutobi before Naruto's clone could comment.**

 **"The Lucifuge family have always prided ourselves in serving the Lucifer Satan, the strongest of the four. If I hadn't been taken by that strange crystal, I would've made the same request of Sirzechs-sama after he had taken the Lucifer title.**

"That's a truthful statement," Grayfia supported. "My House prided ourselves on being able to serve those who had proved their worth in the Underworld."

 **However, this request goes beyond that form of duty to my family's name," she stated. "Naruto-sama has shown himself to be someone with an incredible level of potential; and I don't mean because of his parentage or the Kyuubi."**

 **The clone was fighting off a bashful blush at the strength in her voice when she said he had potential. Only a handful of people ever showed that kind of support to him. Meanwhile, the Hokage queried, "If not for those reasons, then what is the source of the potential you see in him?"**

 **Standing just a fraction taller, she answered, "Naruto-sama's compassion is where I find that source. It reminds me of Sirzechs-sama, and he proved himself to be an invaluable leader. If nurtured and allowed to grow, Naruto-sama's compassion could lead him to becoming someone worthwhile; a man that you humans could look up to."**

Naruto smiled at that. He was grateful at being seen in such a positive light, and hearing it from a complete stranger somehow made it feel more significant,

 **Now, the strength in her voice, along with the conviction she showed in her claim, made the clone's blush present while Sarutobi was smiling inwardly. _'Finally… Someone else sees just how special you are, Naruto-kun.'_ Nodding, the man allowed the smile to show as he regarded the woman. "Very well then. I'll provide you with all of the necessary forms and you're free to become Naruto-kun's maid if you wish. This should allow you to become an honorary member of his clan due to the Clan Laws that were agreed upon by the other Clan Heads. I should have the paperwork ready for you tomorrow, so just have Naruto-kun take you to my office."**

 **She nodded gratefully and turned to the clone, giving him a bow from the waist. "I look forward to serving you, Naruto-sama."**

 **Embarrassed, due to never having received such a respectful gesture, the clone rubbed his head bashfully. "I still don't think you need to do anything for me," he began, "but, you say I have potential to be a great person. So, who am I to let you down?"**

"I had a similar response when Fia-chan made the same declaration to me," Sirzechs noted with a smile.

 **His rhetorical question was followed by a bright grin that made Grayfia smile in return. Sarutobi, still smiling, handed Naruto's clone the scroll. "In there are records of your clan's history along with personal jutsu from both of your parents and their combined notes on fuinjutsu. The keys to your new home are also sealed within."**

 **The new Uzumaki heir nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."**

 **That caught the elderly man off guard for a moment, but he then gained a deadpan expression. "This is gonna be one of those rare few times you ever call me that, isn't it?"**

 **"I have no idea what you're talking about," cheekily replied the blonde with an innocent expression.**

"Heh... Couldn't help myself," Naruto said with a chuckle. Kushina looked amused while Minato just shook his head with a smile.

 **Rolling his eyes with a smile, the Hokage left the apartment in a flicker of speed, leaving the clone and Grayfia alone. The woman then spoke up, "Well Naruto-sama, seeing as how your original self is resting, I'll finish tidying up in here."**

 **"Alright then. I'll dispel in a few minutes anyway since I'm low on chakra. Make sure to let the Boss know what happened tonight, will you?"**

 **She gave him a bow. "Yes, Naruto-sama." And with that, the clone of her new master dispelled and she went back to the cleaning bucket. Once again grabbing the sponge, she resumed where she had left off in cleaning the apartment.**

* * *

 **The following day found Naruto and his new maid standing inside of the Hokage's office. Naruto had been able to recall bits and pieces of what his clone had experienced and Grayfia was more than ready to fill in the blanks as needed.**

 **Also, she had inexplicably been able to obtain a uniform fit for a woman in her position. It was a blue and white dress with a white apron and headpiece that held her hair in place. She let her hair flow down behind her, tying it low to keep it from being caught in the breeze. To finish off the uniform, there was a red swirl directly over her heart and a larger one encompassing the back.**

"I must show where my loyalty lies, after all," declared Grayfia firmly. This earned her a small smile from Naruto that made her lips twitch upward.

 **Sarutobi would've asked how she obtained such clothing, but the look he received from Naruto stopped that notion. The message was clear: don't try to understand it because you never will.**

"That's the truth," _every_ male in the room stated as one, earning amused looks from the women while Kunou tilted her head cutely.

 **"Well, as I told you the previous night, here are the forms needed to have you legally become a citizen of the Leaf Village." Grayfia took a moment to fill them out with the necessary information before handing them back to the Hokage. "Now, considering the circumstances, I'm going to ask you to keep your devil features hidden. If they are discovered, we'll explain that it is simply a bloodline under your family's name."**

"Great cover," praised Kushina with a nod. "Bloodlines are always unique abilities for ninja, so you could easily get away with saying you had one."

 **"I understand, Hokage-sama," she replied. "But what about my place of origin? I left that blank since it would be unwise to note I'm from the Underworld."**

 **"I have that covered as well. The Hidden Mist is currently undergoing civil war at this time, so it won't be hard to say you're simply a refugee escaping the war."**

"Damn, Old Man Hokage is covering everything," Naruto said with an impressed tone.

"Well, he wasn't known as the Professor just for his immense knowledge," Minato explained. "He was also an excellent strategist and could think of solutions to many different scenarios."

 **"Thank you for the consideration, Hokage-sama," she said with a bow.**

 **"What about the Clan Heads and your council concerning me?" asked the Uzumaki.**

"Good point," Ajuka agreed.

 **"They are aware of your new status and we're only going to reveal that you're set to lead the Uzumaki Clan to the public. Considering the fact that your father made himself the most hated man in the Hidden Stone, we believed it'd be best to keep the knowledge of his connection to you to ourselves. We don't want to risk the Stone to reignite their old grudge with that knowledge."**

"Again, humans can't help but hold onto past grudges," Yasaka noted with a frown.

 **"Got it. I don't think I'll take his name anyway. I've been Naruto Uzumaki my whole life, so changing it to Namikaze would be too strange for me."**

"Sorry dad, but it's true. It'd be weird to just take your name when I've lived so long without it."

"No need to apologize," assured Minato with an understanding smile.

 **"Understandable. Now, remember that your team placement is set for the end of this week. So, be sure to prepare yourself for that day."**

 **The blonde nodded while Grayfia assured, "I'll make sure that Naruto-sama is well prepared for that time, Hokage-sama."**

 **With that, the two left the elderly man alone to fill in the blanks on Grayfia's citizenship papers. Just as he finished and had his secretary go submit them, a familiar face jumped into the office via the window.**

 **"Yo, old man!" greeted the boisterous voice of Anko Mitarashi, who was grinning at him with a dango stick acting like a toothpick in her mouth.**

Everyone save for Naruto and Kunou looked back and forth between Naruto's face and Anko's image. "By everything, it's like his female self," Azazel crowed out, laughing loudly.

No one made any attempt to refute that statement; not even Naruto.

 **"I'm here about that request I made of you last night."**

 **After the Hokage had returned to his office from his meeting with Naruto's clone and Grayfia, he had been approached by Anko. Her request had surprised him, but he saw the benefits in it; especially for a certain Genin that showed a lot of promise.**

"Different sensei this time? Wonder what she'll teach me," Naruto mused.

 **"Yes, I thought it over this morning and I can see the merit in it. While Kakashi will be disappointed, he'll have to make do with the team I assign him." He pulled out a form from a folder that had been marked with a reminder and stamped it to make it confirmed. Handing it to her, he said, "As requested, I'm going to let you take over Naruto's training with him as your apprentice. You and he have similar problems and can work well together, so I'm expecting great things from the both of you, Anko."**

 **She grinned brightly at him as she read the legal form in her hands. "Don't you worry, old man! I'll make sure to turn the gaki into one of the best damn shinobi this village has ever seen."**

"Now I remember her!" Kushina declared suddenly with a snap of her fingers. "She was that little spitfire that Orochimaru took as his apprentice before he went rogue!"

"Yeah," Naruto replied with a nod. "She told me about her time studying under him before the war started. She was a great kunoichi before that Snake Bastard gave her his Curse Mark."

 **"Good. With you and Grayfia-san in his life, I can't wait to see what kind of man Naruto-kun will become."**

 **She blinked at that. "Who now?"**

 **"Ah yes, you weren't aware. Naruto has earned the trust of a woman named Grayfia and she has volunteered to become his personal maid, making her an Honorary Uzumaki. I believe she will also take an active role in his growth and help him learn to harness his own power."**

 **"Oh really?" she asked with a slowly growing grin.**

Said grin made Grayfia frown. "She's planning something for me..."

 **"Well, I suppose I'll have to pay them both a little…visit."**

"That can't be good," Naruto noted with a sweatdrop.

 **Before Sarutobi could say anything, she was gone. With a sweatdrop, he commented, "I hope she doesn't go overboard with that _visit_. From what I felt from her, Grayfia could no doubt give _myself_ a lot of trouble…"**

"Damn right she could," Sirzechs agreed with a large grin.

"Well, that was the end of the first chapter!" Serafall said cheerfully. "Ne, Sir-tan, you read next!"

The Lucifer Satan shrugged at that and accepted the book. "Fine by me."

"Man, I wonder what my life in this story will be like with all these changes," Naruto mused.

"Just know that, no matter what life you lived, we're still proud of you, sweetheart," Kushina assured while her husband nodded in total support.

While they had a family moment, three of the readers watched on with interest. The specific point of their interest was the whiskered young man seated before them.

* * *

 **There we go! Chapter one of this Reading Story is finished!**

 **Now, I hope you guys enjoyed this and will enjoy future chapters to come. Again, just so you know, this Reading story will stay two chapters behind the actual FanFiction.**

 **One last thing before I sign off, should their be a pairing in this? I don't know if Reading stories normally have pairings, but I think I could work one into this one. If you guys want a pairing, then please choose between Gabriel, Serafall, or Yasaka; but I want VALID REASONS for your decision. If you just give me your choice without any kind of supporting argument, then I'll ignore it in my final tally.**

 **Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

"I'll go next." Sirzech said.

Kunuo got up and got the book for the devil and hurried over, but as she did, she tripped. Or at least she would have if one of the reading group hadn't moved, and Kunuo felt a comforting grip on her and she looked up to see who held her.

"Naruto-nii."

Naruto smiled, then passed the book to the crimson-haired devil and sat down, plopping the young girl into his lap, "Easy there, Imoto-chan...I get that you're eager to help out however and whenever you can, but no need to be in such a rush that you get hurt, ok?" he said gently as the young yoko kitsune snuggled up into his lap.

"Hai, Nii-chan!" she chirped happily, making the reincarnation of Asura smile and laugh.

Seeing Naruto so concerned and nice to Kunuo, her mother smiled. He really was a sweet boy and she was grateful for that.

 _'He's good with kids...'_ both Sarafall and Gabriel thought.

 ** _Chapter Two: The Start of a Legend_**

* * *

 **"Well, I suppose the first thing we should do is pack up my apartment," suggested Naruto as he and Grayfia walked down the market streets of the village. "After that, we'll see if it's furnished enough and go from there."**

 **"Yes, Naruto-sama. Also, I believe we should get you a change in wardrobe," she added, making him look at her with a brow raised. So, she clarified, "You are now a member of your village's military force, as well as an acknowledged heir to a lost clan. I can see that orange is a color that means a great deal to you, but perhaps we should find a more…professional style of dress so you can better represent who you are?"**

"Nothing wrong with standing out from the crowd, fie-Kataidesu." Serafall said with a pout.

"Not ditching orange...ever!" Naruto said while pouting himself.

 _'Oh heck...those two even pout the same!'_ The other readers thought, looking at Naruto and Serafall.

To avoid the thought of a male that was the same as the overly-energetic devil he worked with, Sirzech went back to the book.

 **He hummed thoughtfully before slowly nodding. "I see your point, Grayfia-chan. But, I won't get rid of the orange," he said firmly. "It's much more important to me now that I know just who my parents were; a symbol of my pride in being their son."**

Minato and Kushina beamed.

"What's that about?" Azazel wondered.

"Well...I had the moniker of Kiiroi Senkō." Minato explained.

"And _I_ was Chishio no Habanero!" Kushina grinned proudly.

"Oh! Yellow and red mixed together make orange! I get it!" Serafall said, bursting out into a surge of giggles at the "homage" symbolism. She found it adorable and hilarious! Naruto really was fun if he was like that! She liked it!

 **"Of course, Naruto-sama. Shall we get your new clothes now, or do you wish to pack your belongings first?"**

 **"We can get my clothes first. These ones have seen much better days," he commented, gesturing to the patchwork he had done to them personally. There were stitching repairs all over, and a couple of sections where a patch was placed over a hole (though it was still a shade of orange to blend in with the rest of the clothes).**

Everyone frowned at that. Naruto thankfully not noticing. Kushina gave her husband a look.

"I KNEW IT! I TOLD YOU THAT SEALING THE FOX INTO NARUTO WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA! I KNEW THEY'D TREAT HIM BADLY! BUT DID YOU LISTEN?! NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!" the redhead snapped in sheer outrage.

"How was it my fault there was no _"right"_ choice with what happened?!" Minato cried, "Don't you think I would've liked it if things HADN'T gone so wrong that night?!"

Kushina snarled at that. She utterly loathed that point!

 **"As you say. Unfortunately, I still haven't familiarized myself with the village's layout. So, I'll follow your lead, Naruto-sama."**

 **"Right. I'll be sure to get you a map as soon as I can. Until then, the closest store is-"**

 **"BANZAI!" came the battle cry of a voice familiar to the blonde, and he was snatched by a tannish-purple blur that suddenly disappeared in a burst of speed and leaves.**

"...what was that?" the readers all asked at once.

 **"Naruto-sama!" Grayfia exclaimed, cursing herself for not being as vigilant as she should before sensing outward for his energy. It took just a moment before she found it and she too left in a burst of speed, cracking the ground beneath her from the force of her departure.**

* * *

 **"I see," commented a silver haired man who reminded people of a one-eyed scarecrow.**

"Yeesh...relative of yours?" Ajuka asked the silver-haired wife of his fellow Satan.

"No." Grayfia said.

 **He was standing before the Hokage after the man had an ANBU fetch him. "So, he knows now, huh?"**

"Kakashi...!" Minato growled.

"Bastard knew all along Naruto was ours and never said a word...! Oh, he is so lucky I can't get my hands on his throat!" Kushina snapped.

The two angels looked shocked at the sheer level of Wrath the two were emitting. Seeing that, the leader of the current underworld regime sighed. Sometimes angels were so clueless!

"Why are you two shocked that they're so angery? They are his family. He had every right to know who they were, but everyone else around him took that right from him and decided keeping him ignorant was in his best interests." Sirzech scowled. He hated that! If someone had done that with his family, the current Lucifer would have lost it completely.

As Michael and Gabriel relaxed, nodding at the justified reasoning; Hagoromo sighed. It was ironic that a family of devils saw the actions of humanity as wrong. Not that he could blame them...a child had the right to know their family, after all.

 **"He reached the stage I had set for him," Sarutobi explained. "At the very least, I would have only told him about Kushina and then Minato when he became a Chunin. But, that plan went out the window when his unexpected patient connected the dots; and with just a picture as her source."**

"HA! Damn right!" Kushina smirked, her earlier anger forgotten and turned to Grayfia, beaming, "Can I just say thanks and that you're awesome, Gray-chan?"

Grayfia looked at her, surprised at how friendly and familiar the Uzumaki woman's tone was to her even though they'd just met, but turned to Sirzech when he put a hand on her shoulder, "Grateful mother." her husband explained with a light smile.

The maid rolled her eyes, but she still wore a light smile; figured that someone with Gremory blood in their veins would understand that in an instant.

 **"You really believe what she said about her being a devil of all things, sir? Seems a bit…out there, if you ask me."**

Grayfia and the other devils scowled.

 **The elder of the two chuckled at that. "Trust me, I thought she had suffered a serious head injury at first. But she proved herself to both Naruto and I. There's no doubt in my mind that she's what she claims to be, and now we have someone with an incredible level of power taking on the role of a maid to one of our village's most important shinobi."**

 **"That makes me wonder as well, sir. Why would someone with her kind of strength – a strength you yourself bore witness to – choose to take on a role of a servant to a fresh Genin?" His eye narrowed in suspicious confusion. "It just seems like some kind of ploy to me, sir."**

Grayfia pursed her lips, deciding she didn't like this man much. It was called gratitude. While she somewhat understood his reasons, she still found it insulting that her other giving her loyalty to one whom had saved her life was seen as trickery.

 **"I would be lying if I said I didn't think the same as you, Kakashi. That's why I had you come here. You know that I've decided to let Anko teach Naruto-"**

"Not gonna end well with that." Azazel said.

 **"When I had personally requested him," interrupted the Jonin blandly.**

"Funny, seeing as he seemed to value passing me over to other people for teaching me while going off and paying "father-son-time" with Sasuke and only trained me THREE YEARS after Sasuke defected." Naruto scowled.

The rest of the group edged away from Minato and Kushina as they started cracking their knuckles at that.

 **"I know you have a connection to him because of his father, but Anko has a more likening situation to him. She could teach him how to better deal with an outside source of chakra playing interference with his own. Not to mention she could be a supporting role for him; something you could've done yourself if you hadn't retaken your ANBU position."**

"As a mother myself, could you understand if I took it upon myself to beat this man into the ground on your behalf, Kushina-san?" Yasaka said.

The woman in question beamed, "Please do, and thank you for it!" she chirped. Would've been better personally, but had to take what you could get.

 **The scarecrow winced at the verbal jab. "I…wasn't in the right state to look after him at the time."**

"For how long, exactly, then?" Michael frowned at the pitiful excuse from this Kakashi man.

 **"An excuse," shot down the Hokage. "A visit or two could've done him some good, and you know it. While later than most he has come to know, Anko's interaction with Naruto has already established a friendly bond between them while you are no more than a stranger to him."**

"A reasonable point," Ophis said, things like this was why she didn't interact much with lesser creatures. They were fools and always tried making excuses.

 **Leaning forward on his desk, he rested his chin against his closed hands. "Surely you realize that the result of his social unacceptance left some scars on the boy? He's uncomfortable around people he hasn't met before."**

 **"And the devil woman? He never met her before."**

"Ok...fair point there, Oldie." Azazel had to nod.

 **"That scenario was different. He saw someone in trouble and helped them, resulting in them showing gratitude and good will; something much better than the blatant ignoring done by many other Leaf villagers."**

 **Kakashi sighed at that. "How could we have messed up this much? He didn't ask for sensei to seal the Bijuu into him, and people should've had more faith in sensei's ability."**

Naruto and his family made a face at that. None of them liked that.

 **"Pain – especially when the source is not truly gone – makes that faith dwindle to near nonexistence, Kakashi. As far as most people are concerned, the source of their grief will never be gone; not so long as the reminder is left in their home."**

The angels and devils all frowned deeply at that. They knew that Naruto didn't want pity, but that's all his existence had been? A reminder of something horrible? They could be mad about that.

 **The Jonin shook his head, feeling sorry for the son of the man who was like a second father to him. "And Naruto is left to deal with their grief and frustration, giving birth to his own in turn."**

"That's why those who are made outcasts usually go insane. Especially if it was for things that weren't their fault." Azazel scowled, shooting Michael and Gabriel an ugly look and a glare with his eyes narrowing.

"Sounds like that Cambion White Dragon Emperor you took in, Azazel-san."

"Try Vali _and_ all of the Grigori..." the black-feathered man said bitterly. "Being victims of situations and circumstances, having nowhere to go or belong, and persecuted for what they can't help...put them through that long enough and how can't people go crazy?"

Ophis nodded, "True. All the Fallen Angels that sided with the Khaos Brigade did so out of desperation and revenge. Tear out the current system by the roots, burn it down, and once everything's been reset to zero, they could go back to where they once called home and rebuild the lives they'd had before the Great Biblical War. It didn't matter that they were forced back; Heaven deemed them traitors and they were cast out for the situation and circumstances being against them so that they had to retreat. And for that, they were stripped of their right to have a home to return to, and while devils still saw them as angelic, their former allies saw them as demonic, so they had both sides hounding them. The only way to even temporarily set aside their pain was to give into vice, which blacked their wings."

Michael and Gabriel looked horrified.

"Shut it! What good will simply saying sorry do?! No amount of nice words'll make what we all went through because of narrow-minded, sanctimonious, backstabbing assholes like you right or better! If you really were sorry, then push back time and make it so none of us Angels that turned into Fallen had to even go through any of that just because we actually survived that damned war rather than getting turned into another mountain of corpses!" Azazel snapped furiously, his tone making it clear he'd held that in for a long time.

 **"Yes, but back to what I was saying. Anko understands that kind of social abuse. Due to Orochimaru's actions in the past, her affiliation to him – even if it ended when he left the village – makes her a pariah in the eyes of many of the villagers.**

"Orochimaru?"

"Twisted bastard...only way to describe him." Naruto grunted, covering Kunuo's ears first so she wouldn't hear the language, something Yasaka nodded to. Naruto really would make a good parent...

Wait a second! Did she honestly just...?! Oh, Inari-sama! She did! Well...she was a single mother, and not only did Naruto have a tie to kitsune because of Kurama, but he's showing himself to be a really good-hearted young man, as well caring about Kunou. Why wouldn't all those facts put together cause her to have thoughts like that?

Despite these mental reassurances, Yasaka still fought down a blush.

 **Now, she's pulled through and has a successful career and some friends. I'm hoping that she can help build his confidence enough to make the same kind of breakthrough. As for Grayfia-san, her support will also help him since she's shown a genuine interest in his potential." He leaned back in his chair. "But, I want you to keep an eye on their interactions during this week since the team selections aren't until the end of it."**

Everyone nodded at that. It was reasonable. Keep an eye on things.

 **Nodding, Kakashi replied, "I'll get right on it, Hokage-sama."**

* * *

 **"Anko-chan, let me go!"**

"Ah...that crazy snake lady, right?"

 **cried Naruto as his most recent friend carried him under her arm and raced across the tress. "I was about to go pack up my apartment!"**

 **"Can't talk, gaki!" she yelled back, a grin on her face. "I'm trying to test your new Help! Nice choice, by the way! Didn't know you liked 'em older; I might've tried something if I knew!"**

 **His face blazed with the blush that appeared.**

Naruto's face matched his story counterpart's at that!

 **"I _so_ didn't need to hear that!" He shook off the blush and looked behind his _kidnapper_ with a small frown. "Plus, your little _test_ for Grayfia-chan might not have been a good idea…"**

"This I wanna see." Grayfia said.

 **"Hmm?" The woman took a look over her shoulder, only for her eyes to widen when she saw the maid easily leaping through the trees after her; breaking off every branch she kicked off of, no matter how thick.**

"A human trying to match the physical capabilities of a demon...ok, sure, you ninjas are made of some pretty good stuff; but still..."

The trio of humans all scowled at that.

 **"Unhand Naruto-sama, now!" ordered Grayfia.**

 **Anko, enjoying the fact that a maid could keep up, merely grinned. "If you want him," she began before dropping into an empty training field, "then take him." She dropped the blonde on his ass, making him rub the now sore flesh. "That is if you can take the cute little gaki from me?" she challenged.**

 **Sweatdropping, the blonde quipped, "So…I'm just a prize now?"**

 **"Why, of course you are! You're my prized gaki!"**

Azazel blinked, then turned to Naruto, "What in the...? That other you is gonna be ground zero for a catfight and he's actually gonna _complain about it_?! No offense, kid, but there is something DEEPLY wrong with that if he doesn't play for the other team!"

Naruto gagged and the next instant; Ophis has taken her dragconic form and proceeded to slam and beat the Fallen Angel like a dog would a toy ragdoll.

"That guy reminds me way too much of Jraiya..." Kushina muttered as Ophis dropped the man and resumed human form.

"Don't you think that was overdoing it, Ophis?" questioned Hagoromo.

"Asura was a worthwhile companion to me when I knew you and your family before. As his reincarnation; Naruto deserves no slander of any sort." she replied.

At that, the Sage of Six Paths could only shrug; figures Asura could make friends even with a shape-shifting, extra-dimensional, anti-matter dragon. His younger son had too big a heart and he couldn't stop caring for others. It was why so many rallied behind him in each of his incarnations; as well as why he'd chosen Asura as the successor to Ninshū. Power like chakra (or power in general) couldn't have been entrusted to the unconscionable, he'd seen the results of that himself when he and his brother fought their power-drunk and apathetic mother.

 **Grayfia narrowed her eyes at the violette woman. "I'll say it once more; unhand Naruto-sama."**

 **"Make me, maid!" Anko shot back with her grin never lessening.**

"...Damn! Challenging Fia-tan like that so openly?! She's wild, tough, and more than a little crazy!" Sarafall laughed, "part of me wants to add her to my peerage!"

"...That idea...is truly frightening..." Ophis said. The idea of this woman being in the group that answered to the hyperactive devil even frightened HER!

 **It was only thanks to years of intensive training that the Jonin was able to duck under a swipe from the silverette devil. Leaping away to get some distance, she thrust an arm forward and unleashed a trio of snakes that stretched from her sleeve opening and lunged at Grayfia. With a blank look, the maid pulled out a folded hand-fan**

At the mention of the hand-fan, Sirzech paled. He hated that thing!

 **and opened it, using it as a makeshift shield that amazingly held up from the snakes.**

 **With ease, she then swept the fan to the side, using her devil power to send out a gale of wind that pushed both the snakes and Anko back. Not missing a beat, Grayfia folded back her fan and appeared in a blur of speed where Anko was heading. The Jonin saw that the she was about to slam down her fan and used a _Body Flicker_ to avoid it, landing on a tree branch just in time to gape at the crater made from the small fan, hoping the leaves would cover her form.**

Everyone that knew and had seen how Grayfia fight in the war shook their heads. Sure it was just a test; but thinking something like that would work against the maid-themed devil was sad to the point of insulting!

 ** _'How in the hell did she-?'_**

 **"You think you can hide?" came a voice from behind her, making her yelp and drop to the ground to dodge another swipe that cleaved the branch clean off the tree. "I won't let any threat to my master just walk away; _none_ of them."**

"Certainly not." Grafia nodded along with her other self at that.

 ** _'Maybe this wasn't the best idea,'_ thought Anko **

"You think? Foolish woman." Grayfia smirked as she watched her other tear into Anko.

 **as she felt a dark power build up from the woman. But, she wasn't a Jonin for nothing. So, she blazed through handseals and ended on the tiger seal. " _Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet_!" she cried before unleashing a large fireball in the shape of a dragon's head.**

 **Narrowing her eyes, Grayfia mused, _'Is this the capability of chakra?'_ **

"That and so much more." Yasaka said while the others among the readers that used chakra all nodded.

 **Snapping open her fan again, she swung it with a backhand, unleashing a much larger gale than the one she used on Anko before. The wind's force became too much and pushed the fire back towards the Jonin who substituted herself with a log.**

 **Out of danger, Anko pulled out a kunai and rushed Grayfia. The she-devil folded back her fan and blocked the blade, prompting the two women to start a quick exchange of slashes, swipes, and parries. At one point, Anko went with a parry, crouching low with a sweeping kick that was easily avoided by Grayfia back stepping and the countered with a third swing of the opened fan, pushing back Anko and making her roll along the ground.**

 **She was about to get up, but she found herself staring right at the tip of the once again closed fan.**

"Aww...and she was doing pretty well, too!" Serafall huffed.

 **Her eyes roamed down the arm holding the fan and then looked into the fierce silver orbs of the maid. "Are you prepared to pay for kidnapping my master?"**

 **"Grayfia-chan, that's enough!" yelled Naruto, having stood up during their last exchange. "Anko wasn't trying to kidnap me; she was just testing you."**

 **Not looking away from the violette woman, the she-devil asked, "Testing me? For what purpose would this woman need to test me?"**

 **Anko answered, "I needed to be sure that the gaki's maid could take care of him. As far as I'm concerned, he's my friend and my new student."**

"Valid reasoning." Gabriel said, it was important to know the ones looking out for those who mattered to you when you weren't around to see to it yourself were capable.

 **"Student?" cut in Naruto. "You're my Jonin sensei?"**

 **"More like you're _my_ apprentice, gaki. Hope you're ready for hell, 'cuz I'm gonna run you into the ground."**

 **Instead of looking scared, the Uzumaki looked excited. "Can't wait, sensei!"**

Naruto gulped. Anko was almost as crazy as Gai-sensei and as sadistic as Ibiki! Was his other crazy?!

 **"Naruto-sama, are you sure you want someone who resorted to abducting you just to test _me_ as your teacher?" questioned the she-devil, sending Anko a hard look.**

 **"Ah, relax Miss Chambermaid," waved off Anko, earning her a narrowed look. "If you ask me-"**

 **"I'm not," Grayfia quipped, but Anko ignored the comment.**

 **"-you passed my test with flying colors! Nice job!"**

 **Grayfia officially made a mental note that she didn't like this woman.**

"And she's haired." Serafall said with a surprisingly straight face, as though the matter of Anko becoming a devil of her peerage was decided.

* * *

 **"That's everything," Naruto stated as he sealed all of his belongings (which wasn't much) into a scroll Anko gave to him. "According to the directions, the Uzumaki Estate is next to the Inuzuka and the Uchiha Compounds."**

 **"Still can't believe you're an heir, kid," commented Anko as she gave the apartment a distasteful look. "But, at least you'll be moving up in terms of living spaces." She turned to him as he pocketed his scroll. "Why'd you stay in this dump, anyway?"**

 **"Because to me it was a home. It may not have been the nicest," he gave the damaged walls a sad look, "or the most welcoming," he looked to the cracked windows, "but it was still a home to me thanks to the old man."**

 **Grayfia was silent as she waited by the door, listening to them speak. Externally, she had a professional look on her face, but internally she was frowning. Her master was a kindhearted person, and had an incredible level of tolerance if his inaction against those who treated him poorly was any indication.**

"He'd do very well for himself as an Angel," Gabriel said, getting a nod from Michael as Serafall and Yasaka both found themselves scowling at the notion.

 **She looked over to him, watching as he gave the place he called home one last walkthrough, and her heart went out to him. She had seen those who were less fortunate living on streets or in homes like his, but she didn't think about how attached those people became to such places.**

 **Seeing it now, and how her master showed some depression at leaving his old apartment, she felt regretful. She hadn't bothered to give such people a second thought, and Naruto was technically one of _those people_.**

Grayfia winced. That was part of the mindset she'd had before defecting from the Old Satan Faction...she fought down a shudder. She hated being reminded of how she'd been that way!

 ** _'The saying is true; don't judge people by appearances or books by their covers.'_**

 **"Well, I'm ready to go," he said as he stepped up to his maid. "I think I should get some new clothes before we check out the estate though."**

 **"About time you got out of that jumpsuit, kid!" Anko nearly cheered, making Grayfia frown. "I know the perfect place to get you some better clothes. Such a quaint little shop with nice wares."**

 **The woman gave a dramatic sigh while Naruto rolled his eyes at her antics.**

Amused, Serafall wondered what Evil Pieces she'd use on Anko...she'd already decided on a nice Mutated Knight piece for a certain whisker-faced cutie in orange who was seated not too far from her.

 **"Well, led on then sensei. After I get my clothes and get settled in, I need to see the old man."**

 **"Naruto-sama, I know that you're close to him, but I believe you should call Sarutobi-sama by his earned and respected title. Surely you'd wish the same when you become Hokage, right?"**

 **Anko blinked at her words. "Wait a minute; _when_? Not _if_?"**

 **Grayfia didn't turn to her as she responded curtly, "I know what I said, Mitarashi-san."**

"Odd as this may sound, I appreciate the faith, Grayfia-san." Naruto smiled. It felt weird saying that to a devil.

She nodded.

 **Unknowingly stopping a fight, Naruto answered her question, "I honestly wouldn't mind if people still called me by my name. I've lived my entire life without a title, and old man Hokage told me he didn't mind me calling him that."**

Naruto nodded at that. Formalities made him gag.

 **The trio exited the apartment complex with Anko at the lead as the Genin continued, "But, I know that certain situations will need me to be respectful; the old man gave me some lessons on that as I grew up."**

"That's good at least." Minato said.

 **Nodding, Grayfia offered her blonde master a small smile. "So long as you're aware, Naruto-sama."**

 **"Yea yea, the gaki knows better. Are you two done? Because we're almost there," complained Anko as she pointed at an approaching shop titled _Shirogane Emporium_. Once the three stepped inside, Naruto and Grayfia took a cursory glance around the store while Anko gave a lazy salute to the kunoichi at the counter. "Yo, Panda-chan! How's business?"**

Naruto blanched, "Oh no...Tenten hates that name!"

"How'd you know that?" Serafall asked.

He shuddered but didn't answer, recalling when he'd called her that once on accident. Tenten had pinned him to a wall with kunai and she'd ended up learning his reaction to what happened when someone stroked his whisker marks...something personal to him, something he had never told ANYONE after he'd called her that once on accident! According to Tenten, he'd released a small rumble that could be described as a purr came from his chest as she stroked the grooves of each of his whisker marks. She told him he'd gotten so relaxed that he'd began to subconsciously nuzzled his cheek against her hand and causing Naruto's eyes to shut and she continued to run her fingers across the whisker marks on the blond's cheeks. When she pulled away, Naruto had released what sounded like a small pitiful whimper until his eyes flickered open and he shook his head to rid himself of the dream-like bliss that fogged his mind due to her fingers' ministrations.

She'd found it so cute and amusing that she'd sealed him into one of her storage scrolls and kept him as her property for a month! It was embarrassing!

She'd only let him go and sworn not to tell anyone about his whisker marks if he never called Tenten a panda again!

 **Said _panda_ developed a twitching brow and slammed her hands on the counter. "I told you to stop calling me that, you Dango Glutton!" She then took note of the other two and composed herself in a near instant. "Welcome to _Shirogane Emporium_. Can I help you two?"**

"Good to know my other isn't the only one that can't stand that woman; but this Tenten girl is mature enough to know how to put business first." Grayfia commented.

 **"Yea, can you show me where the clothing section is? I need to replace this," Naruto explained, gesturing to his suit.**

 **"Yeesh… I'll say," the girl agreed. "Follow me. I'll be with you in a second, miss."**

 **"I'm with him, kunoichi-san," replied Grayfia. "Though, I'll be looking for supplies for him as well."**

 **"Right, well ninja gear is over on the west wall, first aid stuff is on the east wall, and everything else can be found on the shelves throughout the shop."**

 **"Thank you. Naruto-sama, I'll meet you at the counter."**

 **Naruto grinned at her. "Sure thing, Grayfia-chan," he replied as he followed the kunoichi to the clothes section.**

 **As she led him, the girl asked, "So, what's the story between you two, _Naruto-sama_?"**

"Hey! Only other-Grayfia can call him that!" Azazel said jokingly.

"Looks like someone's got competition, eh, Fia-tan?" Serafall laughed.

The maid in question pointedly ignored them.

 **"She's my maid," he answered bluntly, making her stop and look at him in disbelief. "She became my maid last night after I patched her up in my apartment. She wasn't in good shape and could've died."**

"Could this damned book please stop bringing up how my wife almost died?!" Sirzech raged, pausing in his reading.

Minato nodded grimly, fully agreeing with the devil. Even if he and his wife were both dead already, he understood where the current Lucifer was coming from.

 **"Whoa… So, what's your name anyway? I'm Tenten, and my adopted parents own this place."**

 **"Naruto Uzumaki, and I guess I'm the next Head of the Uzumaki Clan. The Hokage told me that last night after he came to check on Grayfia-chan."**

 **"Uzumaki… Uzumaki…" she repeated thoughtfully before perking up. "You're the guy who painted the Hokage Mountain with Anko, aren't you?"**

Naruto, Kushina, Serafall, and Kununo all snickered at that reminder.

 **"Hehe… Guilty," he confirmed with a sheepish head rub. "To be fair though, the day was getting real dull, so Anko and I decided to find something to do."**

"So. Calling. Dibs!" Serafall cheered. On BOTH Anko AND Naruto! These two were fun!

 **Rolling her eyes, Tenten began to take his measurements. "Only you and Anko would do something like _that_ out of boredom…**

"Eh...not really. _I'd_ do it too if it weren't for my position." Serafall confessed shamelessly.

 **Anyway, what were you looking for specifically?"**

 **"Honestly, I don't know. I want to look respectable, but I need to have some orange on my clothes."**

 **"Can I ask why?" Tenten queried as she finished checking his measurements.**

 **"It's to honor my parents. My father was blonde like me, but my mother had red hair. They also had nicknames that linked them to those colors. So, yellow and red makes…"**

 **"Orange," finished the kunoichi with an understanding nod. "Let me see what we've got. Hang on…"**

"Wonder what she'll come up with?" Minato said.

"With how detail oriented and intelligent she is, wonder when Tenten'll figure out about other-me being your kid?" Naruto wondered.

 **Back with Grayfia, she picked out a quality ninja kit with kunai, shuriken, a spool of wire, and a pouch to hold them. She also grabbed a first aid kit, ink and tags, and two blank scrolls for sealing. "What else will he need?" she asked quietly to herself.**

 **It wasn't quiet enough, because Anko answered, "You basically found everything he'll need. But I'd grab him some gloves with metal plates." She held up a pair of black ones and Grayfia took them with a small nod of thanks. "You don't like me, do you?"**

"Clearly not."

 **"I don't appreciate what you've done so far," explained Grayfia. "From what I've seen, Naruto-sama sees you as a friend and you could've betrayed that trust he has in you."**

 **"I wasn't placing him in any danger, and he knows how I am. He knew I was testing you, so he wasn't worried."**

"She does have a point." Michael nodded.

 **"Still…" Grayfia was frowning.**

 **"Look, I know you're worried about what could've happened, but nothing did. I'll admit that I'm still a bit iffy about this whole maid situation, but I can see that you're honestly looking out for him; it's my job to get a read on people quickly." She sighed. "You might not like me, but I'm Naruto's teacher now and you're his maid. The way I see it, we're both doing the same thing for him; looking out for him."**

Grayfia scrunched her nose in distaste at Anko getting one up on her other self.

 **"I suppose you have a point. But I want your word on something," she began, giving Anko a stern look. "I want your word that you won't destroy the trust he has in you and that you'll help keep him safe."**

 **"Pft, come one, give me some credit," Anko stated. "Of course I'll do those things. He's my friend, after all."**

 **"Well, I'm glad to hear that sensei," Naruto noted as he walked up to them in his new clothes. He was dressed in black ninja sandals, storm gray pants, and a long-sleeved mesh shirt that had black shirt over it with an orange flame making a spiral starting from the waist and ending on the chest. His headband's cloth had also been changed from blue to orange and was tied to his left arm. "How do I look?"**

"Damn...that Tenten girl's got impressive taste." Ajuka said.

 **"Much better, gaki," Anko answered with a thumbs-up.**

 **"I agree, Naruto-sama. It's more presentable than what you were wearing before," Grayfia added before turning to Tenten. "We'll take a few copies, as well as a travelling cloak in the same shade as his pants."**

 **"Right. Let me just ring you up," the Genin kunoichi replied as she began to mark up the purchase. Naruto handed Grayfia his wallet to pay for the supplies while he went to grab the cloak. After the purchases were paid for, Tenten bid the trio a good day and asked for Naruto to visit some other time.**

"Hello! Seems someone's interested in your kiddo!" Azazel laughed.

Minato and Kushina shared a look. Too bad Tenten wasn't here with them reading. It'd give a much better scope of her character if they could meet her in person.

 **Considering who her teammates were, one wouldn't blame her for the request.**

"Might Guy, a mini-me xerox of the man, and an ex-fatalist." Naruto winced, Neji's death stinging. The others all thought he was talking about why Tenten needed someone normal around, though.

 **With the shopping done, Anko told Naruto to meet her at Field 17 in the morning before she left to find her friend Kurenai. As for Naruto and Grayfia, they had arrived at the gates of the Uzumaki Estate. The estate itself was a two story building that was quite wide with a single story guest home behind it. Sarutobi had explained that the size was smaller than the compounds due to Kushina and Mito being the only Uzumaki in the village before Naruto; and even then, Mito lived in the Senju Compound with her husband, Hashirama. The estate wasn't built until Kushina had the funds for it with Minato.**

That was very depressing as far as Naruto and his parents saw things, as their expressions made clear.

 **It was made in hopes of the couple raising a family; but death took that chance from them.**

"Stupid masked Uchiha...!" Kushina snarled as everyone else looked depressed at that.

 **The buildings were both dark red on the outside with black rooftops and honey brown doors. There were also seal tags placed over where the Uzumaki insignia would be seen from outside viewers, and Naruto sent out a couple of clones to take them off while he and Grayfia went inside.**

 **Inside the estate, they saw that the floorboards were a dark brown color with light blue walls that had internal swirling designs in a darker shade; reminding Naruto of the whirlpools his clan was named after. The first floor was filled with a kitchen, spacious living rooms, a study with a lockable door, and a couple of restrooms with showers. Upstairs, there were a total of six bedrooms; each with their own personal sized restroom. In the study, there was also a basement access**

"Nice digs." the Fallen Angel said.

 **that led them beneath the estate and to the sight of a single wooden chest with a large seal on its lid and no lock.**

Kushia smirked. Oh...that was good of her and Minato's other selves!

 **"Wonder what's in there," Naruto mused as he placed his hand over the seal, watching it light up a stunning gold color. He felt a considerable drain of his chakra, enough to leave him at least a quarter less than maximum, before the chest cracked open.**

 **Lifting the lid up the rest of the way, he and Grayfia were greeted to the sight of a notebook that was stuffed with added pages and notes. On the cover of it was a stitching of the Uzumaki's symbol. He reached in and pulled it out, flipping through some pages and checking out the fuinjutsu notes that were riddled within its pages.**

 **"Damn… This is some complicated stuff. It'll take me a while to get through this."**

 **"You'll have plenty of time, Naruto-sama," assured his maid, placing a hand on his shoulder. "For now, I suggest that we get settled in. I'll begin cleaning the estate while you go speak with Hokage-sama."**

 **He nodded as he placed the notebook back into the chest and closed it, prompting the seal to lock it back up. "Alright, but I'm going to leave some clones behind to help you."**

 **"I can handle-"**

 **"I know you can handle some cleaning, Grayfia-chan. I just want to help you because I'm not used to having someone do things for me like a maid would; and I honestly don't think I ever will."**

"Sorry. Had to be utterly self-reliant for a long time." Naruto explained.

Grayfia nodded. Perfectly understandable.

 **He proceeded to make four clones as he made his way out of the estate. "That doesn't mean I will never stop appreciating what you do for me," he assured as he closed the front door.**

 **The she-devil sighed at the stubbornness that was her master, but with that sigh came a small smirk. "Very well then, Naruto-sama," she said to herself before regarding the four clones. "Alright then, boys. Time to get to work, and I want this place to shine for Naruto-sama."**

 **The four clones nodded and began to get to work with the silverette woman.**

* * *

 **"Well, I'm glad that you're taking your new position seriously; even if it needed to be explained a bit better by Grayfia-san," stated Sarutobi as he smoked from his pipe. "She's not wrong, though. As an heir to a famous clan, you need to present yourself in a professional manner so that it shows the Uzumaki aren't seen in a negative way."**

 **"I get that," assured Naruto as he sat across from the elderly man. "What I need help understanding is my new responsibilities.**

"That will be an issue." The devil, angel, and kitsune leaders all said in unison, nodding sagely.

 **You said that Sasuke and I would have to sit in on certain meetings since we're officially ninja now and are recognized as heirs from a political standpoint."**

 **"That's right, I did. And don't worry so much; I'll be sure to inform you both as to which meetings I'll need you both to take part in. what you mainly need to focus on is bettering yourself as a shinobi of the village, and I believe both Anko and Grayfia-san will be of great help to you in that regard."**

"No fooling there, geezer!" Kushina snickered.

 **The Genin nodded in understanding. "One other thing; at one point during Anko-sensei's _test_ for Grayfia-chan, I sent out some of my chakra to see if it'd be easier for her to find me."**

 **"A smart move in case you're taken by surprise and captured; especially if you have a sensor on your team."**

Everyone nodded. Good move.

 **"That's…what I wanted to ask about, old man. After I sent out my chakra, I felt something respond back to me. It felt…dark, in a sense. Kinda like when Grayfia-chan showed us that she really was a devil; but this one was untamed, and it came from somewhere closer to the village border."**

"Not good." Minato said with a wince.

 **The Hokage hummed thoughtfully at this, finding the explanation to be familiar. Going off of a hunch, the man called out his four ANBU guards. Naruto was surprised at their sudden reveal, even though he knew they were always with the old man.**

"Leaders need protection, after all."

 **"Naruto, I'm going to have one of these ANBU project something that might trigger this feeling you've described. If I'm right, then you have found out something quite useful to you. If not, then at the very least we know you can sense something out of the ordinary."**

 **Naruto nodded and waited patiently, staring at ANBU operatives Cat, Bear, Rabbit, and Wolf. For a few moments, nothing happened that he could sense, so he decided to raise his chakra a little. Once he did, he felt something cruel from one of the ANBU that sent a shiver down his spine, and he pointed at the one in the Rabbit mask.**

 **"Whoever you are, you're giving off this really bad vibe. It feels uncomfortable, y'know…"**

 **As soon as he finished saying that, the cruel feeling left and he felt nothing. Sarutobi had a small smile on his face at the results. "Well my boy, it seems as though you have a similar ability to that of Mito-sama; a sensory towards negative emotions and desires. With enough practice, this could become a useful tool for you, because it will let you feel if someone is planning to deceive or betray you in some manner."**

"Very useful skill." the two non-fallen angels noted.

 **"That's awesome and all," he began before turning to Rabbit, "but what were you thinking about that was so negative?"**

 **Behind her mask, Rabbit blushed in embarrassment at being put on the spot. "W-Well, I was thinking about my ex and what I was going to do to him after I caught him cheating on me. It uh… It was pretty detailed," she answered bashfully, rubbing the back of her head with a nervous laugh.**

"Make it hurt..." Yasaka scowled, reminded of her ex-husband.

 **The Hokage, Naruto, Bear, and Wolf all sweatdropped at her answer while Cat nodded in understanding.**

* * *

 **"So, after the old man tested my sensory ability, he told me that I most likely sensed a girl named Yakumo Kurama,**

Naruto's eyes widened. Yakumo?! Oh man!

 **who was meant to be the heiress of the Kurama Clan," explained Naruto as he and Grayfia made their way over to the Kurama Compound.**

 **"But what does that have to do with us heading there, Naruto-sama?"**

 **"What I sensed from Yakumo was a more untamed feeling of darkness than your devil power. If what she has is like how I hold the Kyuubi, then maybe I can help her."**

Naruto shivered, recalling Yakumo's genjutsu and the Ido, a sentient and malicious personality within Yakumo's mind, which had been generated from the id part of her psyche. This personality could control her and use her incredible powers for destructive means — with the destruction of Konohagakure foremost in its mind.

 **She raised a brow at this. "And how do you propose you'll aid her? You haven't begun any studies on fuinjutsu, so you can't place a seal on her. And you're unfamiliar with darker energies that devils and yōkai have."**

 **"That's why you're here," he stated. "You have experience in this matters, so you can help her out, right?"**

"Not a bad idea..."

 **The woman frowne** **d thoughtfully. "It would depend on her situation. Until then, I cannot answer, Naruto-sama."**

 **"I understand." They approached the compound entrance and were stopped by a guard. "I'm here to see Yakumo Kurama and see if I can help fix her condition."**

Naruto made a face at that. Oh kami-sama! Did his other just...?!

 **He felt horrible saying it like that, sounding hypocritical due to having his own _condition_. **

"No kidding...!" Naruto shuddered. Gabriel frowned at seeing that and went over to Naruto, hugging him from behind.

 _'BITCH...!'_ Serafall and Yasaka both thought.

"It's ok, there was no other way to put things. It was the fault of neither you nor your alternate. There isn't any fault of yours to be found in that." the angelic woman said comfortingly.

 **But he knew that he wouldn't be let in if he didn't play on their fear; even if it made him sick.**

"Nii-sama's not like that! He just wants to help so people are happy!" Kununo said, sounding upset that Naruto's alternate had to do something like that even though he didn't want to.

Naruto smiled and hugged her, thanking both the angel and the young girl as he let go. Gabriel smiled and went back to her spot next to her brother.

 **Grayfia saw this and offered a reassuring pat on his shoulder that made him smile gratefully.**

 **Being led through the compound, the two took note that they were moving away from the more crowded section that held all of the houses and to an open field that housed a single wooden cabin that didn't even look big enough for a small family. Naruto was frowning long before they stopped at the front door and their guide left them there.**

Just like Naruto and the other readers were doing now.

"How could they treat people like this?!" Michael demanded.

"That's what people are like. Especially with something they're afraid of. Can't learn that by sitting in Heaven rather than seeing what the real world is like." his black-winged counterpart said, somewhat snidely.

 **Sighing, Naruto knocked on the door and waited for a response. "It's open," came a muffled female voice. As the two walked in, they saw the cabin filled with various paintings, each one of them painted expertly.**

Naruto smiled at that. He remembered those. Yakumo really had talent and an eye for details, put together with how much time she'd had on her hands until that Ido beast was dealt with, no mystery why her paintings were so good.

"Really is quite good...reminds me of the quality of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni's work." Michael said, studying the painting, and Gabriel nodded.

 **Some were of various landscapes while others took a dark turn and were of people in some kind of horrible situations.**

Naruto paled. "Oh...That's not good..." he gulped.

"Why's that?" Sirzech asked, pausing in his reading.

"The thing is; despite how frail her body is, Yakumo's power with illusions is so potent, her illusions are more like reality warping. Doesn't matter if you know it's an illusion, she can actually kill with them if she wants." Naruto said. "She uses paintings as a medium."

Everyone froze as that sunk in, Naruto taking the time to plug his "little sister's" ears.

Three...two...one...

"SHE WHAT?!" the rest of the group cried.

"But that's...!" Ophis said, stunned. "Added that onto this thing inside her body...no wonder people would be scared." the dragoness was openly shocked. She made a note to personally go find this Yakumo girl and seeing if she'd join her against Great Red.

 **Moving to the other room, the saw a young teen with long brown hair sitting on a bed with her back to them as she painted a hilltop view of a sunset over a forest. "Just a moment," she said softly, putting some last touches on the painting.**

Naruto sighed, feeling nostalgic since that was like how he'd actually met Yakumo for the first time. He really wished he had a chance to visit with her again.

 **"Are you Yakumo Kurama?" he asked.**

 **"I am…but sometimes I'm not," she answered. Turning to them, they saw that her eyes were twin pools of darkness.**

The devils all winced at that. Possessions like that were nasty!

"Good thing he brought Fia-tan with him..." Serafall muttered.

 ** _"Who are you?"_**

 **"Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi. And this is Grayfia Lucifuge, someone who I think can help you, Yakumo." He gestured to the she-devil who nodded in greeting, though frowned at the yōkai before her.**

 ** _"And why would I want your help? Maybe I like things this way?"_**

Naruto grit his teeth. Damned homicidal parasite! Get out of Yakumo's head! And don't dare speak for her like that!

 **"You don't mean that, Yakumo," Naruto denied. "I know what it's like to hold a demon inside of you, to have people live in fear of what that demon could do. I want to help you, Yakumo. You just need to let me."**

 **She blinked and her eyes were human again, colored a light brown shade.**

The readers all let out relieved sighs at that. Good sign! Very good sign!

 **"How do I know you won't lie to me like _she_ did? Betray me like _she_ did?"**

Naruto cringed. "Kurenai..." he muttered, "Now I'm worried about when Yakumo meets Kurenai in the story..."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Keep in mind, this really isn't my place to say...I only learned about it because my concerns lead me to getting me involved...but Yakumo was born with a weak body, she was unable to perform the physical activities required of a ninja. Worried about this development, her father petitioned the Third Hokage to grant Yakumo a special tutor to allow her to become a proper ninja. Kurenai Yūhi, who was a illusion user like Yakumo. Inspired by the example of Rock Lee, who was unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, and his relationship with his sensei Might Guy, Yakumo believed she could become a ninja through simply concentrating upon her genjutsu skills."

The blond sighed, feeling horrible at what came next. "But Kurenai lacked Guy's optimism and felt that she was unable to train Yakumo in this regard. She eventually refused to train Yakumo, instructing her to seek another path in life. But Yakumo's refusal forced Kurenai to later seal up the young girl's powers. This was done on the order of the Third Hokage, as he had been made aware of this thing we're hearing about now. It overcame the seal, and cast the illusion of a fire engulfing the Kurama clan's household, which killed Yakumo's parents. Yakumo, however, believed that the fire was started on the order of the Third Hokage, having overheard a conversation that she believed indicated that the Third Hokage was planning to kill her if she became too much of a threat."

Michael Looked alarmed, "Then...!"

Naruto nodded grimly as the angel put two and two together and got four, "Yeah...unlike the actual Yakumo, the version of her in this book still thinks Kurenai betrayed her and that the Third Hokage was planning to kill her if she became too much of a threat, rather than learning about how they were really talking about them dealing with what was inside her."

 **He saw the distrust in her eyes, and the anger at whoever this woman who betrayed her was. So, he gave her a kind smile and answered, "Because I'm not that kind of person. I won't deceive you because it's not who I am. You can see me, can't you Yakumo? What do you see?"**

 **With her eyes narrowed, she kept her gaze on him and grabbed a pencil and sketch pad. "Don't… Don't move," she murmured as she began sketching, never taking her eyes off of him.**

 **And he didn't. He stood still with his smile in place while Grayfia watched on, prepared to do anything in case Yakumo tried something. It was tense for her, and it went on for nearly ten minutes before the girl stopped sketching and looked at her pad. She studied it for a few moments before a ghost of a smile formed.**

 **"What do you see?" Naruto asked again.**

 **"I see…someone who's honest. Someone with compassion that makes me see the worth in myself." Looking up from her pad, her smile grew slightly as her eyes met his. "I see you, Naruto Uzumaki…and I know you're no deceiver."**

"Uuuh...couldn't she just...?"

"Sees things others can't or might miss, as well as seeing to the heart of things with what she makes...guess it must be an artist thing." Naruto shrugged, "besides, Yakumo has to deal with feelings of being betrayed. Can't really blame her or her other if they don't trust easily after that."

Everyone nodded. Made sense.

 **"Glad to hear that, Yakumo. Now, I'm gonna let Grayfia take a look at you; if that's okay?" The girl nodded and his smile grew. "Alright Grayfia-chan, do your thing."**

 **"Yes, Naruto-sama," she said and stepped forward. Probing with her devil power, she reached out to the demon inside of Yakumo, slowly finding her surroundings fade and change to a dark void riddled with images nearly identical to the paintings in the cabin. Across from her was Yakumo, but in a more demonic form with dark eyes and skin, wilder hair, horns, and sharp fangs.**

At the description and image, Naruto grit his teeth.

 **"Curious… I was told the demon was called Ido, but instead I see a temptress."**

Naruto blinked. Huh? Then he recalled this story took place in an alternate universe, so of course there were changes.

 ** _"Oh, you flatter me,"_ the succubus yōkai cooed with a wicked smirk, dropping the illusion of a monster that was in her place. Now, she looked just like Yakumo, but she had leathery wings, curved horns, glowing pink eyes, and a stunning figure barely covered by a skimpy violet kimono.**

Naruto covered Kununo's eyes so she couldn't see the image, making her mother nod gratefully.

 ** _"And what's a devil doing here in these parts? Last time I saw one, she was taking a bite out of some old tree's fruit."_**

Hagoromo winced.

 **"I'm here to help you and your host come to terms. You're obviously responsible for her more sadistic, yet creative, side while she gives you a body to live in. Perhaps an arrangement can be made between the two of you; one that benefits you both better?"**

 ** _"You speak of fusion,"_ accused the succubus. _"And why should I? Maybe I like things this way."_**

 **"Is that a fact? A pity, because my master has already declared he'll help Yakumo-san. And when my master makes a declaration," she surged her power, easily dwarfing that of the succubus who was sweating at the oppressiveness,**

Grayfia smirked. That was right! Fear her!

 **"I'll make sure it follows through; no matter what. That is _my_ declaration, temptress."**

 ** _' _S_ uch…p-power,'_ the succubus thought in fear and awe. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she stuttered out, _"W-What did you h-have in mind, D-Devil-sama?"_**

 **Grayfia smirked as she laid out the terms.**

* * *

 **"You want me to _what_ now?" asked a gaping Anko as she stood in front of her new apprentice and a brunette girl dressed in a purple kimono that was over a fishnet suit. **

"Chainmail mesh armor, really. Why do people always just blindly assume it's fishnet clothing? It's why I never wore the stuff while on active duty as a kunoichi." Kushina said in annoyance.

Naruto "GAH! So did NOT need to hear that! Oh the images in my mind! ! Oh, my _eyes_! My _eyes_! Unsee it! I _must_ unsee it!"

"On it, Sweetie!" Serafall chirped, then her body glowed with an icy blue outline to it and Naruto relaxed.

"...What were we just talking about, again?" he asked.

"Welcome, Naru-kun~!" the female devil chirped with a smile. It made her glad she was able to help him with her memory-altering powers angels and devils used.

 **The girl had pink eyes that gleamed at times, flawless skin, a well-developed figure for a young teen, and nails filed into sharp points. Loosely tied to the obi holding her kimono closed was a Leaf headband with a black cloth.**

 **"I want you to take Yakumo-chan as your second student," declared Naruto. "I had Grayfia help her with her demon issue, so she's more than ready to really start her ninja career. Please, sensei, I want to help her reach her goal and become an amazing kunoichi. Please!"**

"You have such a good son, must be hard to feel proud." Michael said.

"Don't even try NOT feeling proud of him!" Minato said.

 **Anko was groaning as she looked between her pleading gaki and the smirking heiress who had a hand on her hip. Behind them both was Grayfia, and she had a barely noticeable smirk at the distress in Anko's visage.**

"Yes...I must admit, I can see why my other would find that amusing." Grayfia smiled.

 **Barely noticeable, yes; but Anko still noticed.**

 **"Dammit all, gaki," she groaned out and palmed her forehead. "I thought it'd just be one student; not a team." She knew she shouldn't have, but she opened her eyes and saw Naruto's pleading face had become feminine, his hair had grown longer and become crimson red, and hi- _her_ bottom lip was quivering while her blue eyes were wide and glistening.**

 **He had somehow made the perfect "Begging Moe Girl" face…and the Jonin thought it was the most unfair thing in the world.**

"HA! Like I said before: Dibs!" Serafall cheered. Oh...she was loving this!

 **"FINE! I'LL DO IT! JUST STOP MAKING THAT FACE!" she clutched at her now female student's legs, crying hysterically. "MAKE IT STOP!"**

 **A poof of smoke showed Naruto resume his natural appearance** **and he turned around to give Yakumo a "nice guy" look; though he made it far more tolerable to see than a certain _green duo_ the Leaf would one day be (in)famous for. **

"Don't ask." Minato, Kushina, and Naruto all said at once with deadpanned expressions.

 **"You're in, Yakumo-chan!" he cheered.**

 **The girl's smirk grew into a smile and she hugged Naruto, making him blush faintly at being hugged by a girl; especially a cute one. "Glad to hear it, Naruto-kun," she replied before she let him go. Bowing to both him and their new sensei, she stated, "I look forward to working with you both from now on." She then turned to the she-devil and bowed again. "And you as well, Grayfia-sama."**

 **Anko pouted at being coerced, crossing her arms with a huff. "Yea yea, we're all one big happy team now… But, I'm not gonna let this slide so easily, brats." She grinned and pulled out twin handfuls of kunai, making both students gulp and sweat nervously. "First lesson: evasion slash reaction training. Now, DODGE!" she yelled as she began her torturous lesson.**

 **Both Genin yelped and took to the trees, their sensei hot on their heels**

 _'Why do I get the feeling that if things were different, I'd still have to do that, only with someone that could prove even more certifiable by using bombs rather than kunai...'_ Naruto thought with a shudder.

 **while Grayfia was left to stand in the training field. Her smirk was still in place, but it showed a great level of pride in it as she looked to where her master had leapt off. "Your legend starts now, Naruto-sama…and I'll be there for you every step of the way. That is my promise to you."**

 **Her eyes closed and her smirk changed to a serene, yet small, smile as she calmly walked through the forest after Naruto and his team. She was looking forward to what he would accomplish next.**

"Well...that's all for this chapter." Sirzech said.

"What say we take a break from the book?" yawned Falbium. Which didn't surprise those that knew him. He was a very lazy person, spending most of his time sleeping, and lived by the thought that "working means losing". He is usually unenthusiastic in doing anything.

"So we just take a break while outside in the physical world, a madman drags the world and everyone in it down to Hell to just so he could sit on a throne as a self-proclaimed deity over a world of smoke and mirrors all in the name of his own petty delusions!...uh, no offense." Naruto demanded, then quickly apologized to the devils.

"None taken." Sirzech said. This guy Naruto was talking about sounded a little TOO much like the Old Satan Faction. Small mystery why Naruto would want to hurry and finish this so he could go back and save his loved ones from the deluded psycho.

"Well...wanna keep reading or not?"

* * *

 **A/N: And done with this chapter! Sorry it took so long...real life keeping me busy. As you can tell by the end, I'm not sure if I should include intermission chapters. After all, time may not pass where the readers are, but Madara's still rampaging around in the name of his disillusions and messiah-complex in the real world.**

 **I'll allow my readers to decide that. Just tell me if you'd like seeing intermission chapters or not in your reviews.**

 **Also, decided on having the votes for the pairing in the story go up until chapter five and I'll tally everything then.**


	3. Chapter 3

Azazel took the book next. "Might as well..." he commented before turning to the third chapter.

 ** _Chapter Three: Ahead of the Pack_**

 **"Nngh!" grunted Naruto, arm outstretched as he tried to send out his chakra in a specific manner. Sweat began to form and fall from his concentration and a sharp point made of golden colored chakra**

"Wait...my chakra's blue, the only time it's gold is when I use the refined synchronization with Kurama!" Naruto said.

Both Yasaka and Kunuo looked interested in that tidbit.

 **began to poke out of his palm. It poked outward for about three inches before the strain of concentration became too much and the Uzumaki stopped the technique.**

Naruto groaned. Chakra control...it was _ALWAYS_ his chakra control! It had been pretty much the ONLY thing his teachers had ever really taught him! Constant, remedial lessons on chakra control!

"Large chakra reserves are hard to be precise with, no harm or shame in having trouble with it, Naruto-kun." Yasaka said, then her hands flew to her mouth as she blushed furiously at the use of the affectionate suffix she'd attached to his name.

Serafall stared, shocked, before she narrowed her eyes and growled menacingly at the female kitsune.

 **As he panted hard from the exhausting jutsu, Grayfia approached him and handed him a canteen filled with cool water. He accepted it gratefully, but the maid frowned when she saw that his gaze was averted from her own, almost out of self-shame. He had been like this all morning, and it was starting to concern her.**

"Why's that?"

 **Anko, who was giving physical conditioning to Yakumo, had also noticed and frowned. It wasn't like the gaki to be so subdued and withdrawn. So, she did something about it. "Oi Whiskers! What's with the brooding aura?"**

 **Thankfully, that got the reaction of him turning to her dramatically and crying out, "I do not brood, sensei!"**

"That's Sasuke's gig, not mine!" Naruto snapped, offended.

 **"Then tell me what the hell you're doing now, McBroody!" teased the woman. "You and Ms. Maid are as silent as graves! The hell happened after training yesterday?"**

 **To her and Yakumo's surprise, Naruto clammed up with a healthy blush on his face.**

"...I do NOT like where this is going..." Naruto muttered.

 **The Jonin turned her gaze from him to Grayfia, going back and forth a couple more times before suddenly smirking. "Oh~? Did something _happen_ last night, gaki?"**

"Speak nothing of this." Naruto hissed at his other.

 **His blush grew, but he stayed silent. Unfortunately, Grayfia took his silence as her duty to answer. "After his training with you, Naruto-sama and I shopped for groceries, I prepared the evening meal, and then we turned in for the night. He and I shared the bed, and then-"**

Silence.

"Parallel universe!" Naruto yelped as his parents, Harugumo, Ophis, Sirzechs, Grayfia, Ajuka, Falbium Asmodeus, Serafall, Azazel, Michael, Gabriel, Yasaka, and even Kunuo all looked at him.

 **"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" cut in Anko. "Time out! Bring it back! You two _shared the bed_?"**

"Lucky bastard..." Azazel said, then his eyes widened at the next few lines, "Oh! There's an explination!"

 **The poor Uzumaki heir felt like he could die under the grin his teacher was sporting. Grayfia had no such feelings, instead choosing to give the violette woman a hard look. "I performed my duties as Naruto-sama's maid. As his maid, and in order to better protect him from any kind of nocturnal threat, I stayed close to him."**

At that, all the lookes shifted from Naruto to Grayfia, who looked back, refeusing to be ashamed. She was proud of her dedications, after all.

"Nocturnal threats...Suuuuuu~rrrrre~" Azazel hooted, making Sirzecehs's figers twitch dangerously.

"Well...at least that makes Naru-kun innocent of anything seeing as how it was fia-tan's fault." Serafall said, relaxing. GOOD! That meant she still had a chance to snag Naruto for herself!

 **Naruto had his eyes closed and sighed as he remembered the night before.**

Excese me...!?" Naruto cried, eyes widening as he turned red. "God...kill me now, please!" he moaned, the devils all wincing before glaring at Michael. The two angels looked at Naruto in sheer pity.

This was just going to be cruel.

Naruto, for his part, asked Kunuo (who had yet to remove herself from his lap) to cover her eyes and not peak until he said so and he covered her ears, not wanting her to see or hear anything she shouldn't.

 **[Flashback]**

 _ **He had just finished his shower and gotten into a simple shirt and sweats to sleep in. Getting into bed, he was about to shut off his lamp before a knock was heard. "Naruto-sama, may I enter?"**_

"Uh, why would she enter my room?" Naruto asked nervously, missing the looks shared between the Devils. He _did_ notice the expression Azazel made, one that reminded him of his late master. "Okay, spill!"

Chuckling, the leader of the Grigori replied, "Just watch, kid. You may find yourself wishing you were there."

 _ **He sighed at her respectful title for him. He'd never feel used to such respect from anyone. But, he replied all the same, "Yes, you may Grayfia-chan."**_

 _ **Entering the room fully dressed, the she-devil moved over to her master's bedside, looking down at his laid form. "Naruto-sama, I must request that you move over a little."**_

"WHAT?!" the Uzumaki Family exclaimed in shock, immediately seeing what was going to happen.

"B-But he's…!" Minato started.

"I'm too young for this!" Naruto exclaimed comically.

Kushina turned her protective glare towards the maid in question, and the woman actually found herself taking an involuntary step away from the Uzumaki woman. "My baby boy…?" she growled out.

 _ **He blinked at the request. "…Eh?"**_

 _ **"I need Naruto-sama to move over," she repeated as she, to his embarrassment, started to remove her uniform.**_

Azazel was sucker punched and knocked out by Sirzechs before the man could perv over his wife's image; something Grayfia thanked him for, before Ophis waved and the book faded and reappeared in her hands.

 _ **After a moment, she was left in nothing but some dark blue underwear and a matching bra. Her hair tie had also been removed, allowing her silver tresses to flow like a stunning river.**_

 _ **"W-What are you doing?!" he exclaimed fearfully as she began to unhook her bra, turning away from her so that he wouldn't be caught ogling her naked breasts.**_

"Aww, he's the innocent type!" Serafall exclaimed with a giggle and flushed cheeks.

Yasaka saw it more in favor of Naruto being in control of his baser instincts. He was in puberty in this story, and he was no doubt _very_ curious about the opposite sex. For him to turn away without even trying to peek either showed great self-control, or something else was at play.

 _ **She frowned in worry at his actions. Why was he so afraid of seeing her in a state of undress? She was his – she had chosen to make herself his. As far as she was concerned, she belonged to him in every way, though she hoped that one day he would reciprocate her devotion to him.**_

The other Satans chuckled at Sirzechs and Grayfia, remembering how the Lucifer was when Grayfia had first declared herself his. Seeing it again was nostalgic.

Gabriel was concerned for the story version of the young Uzumaki. As an angel, she was concerned about the purity of others, and it concerned her that this type of situation might be too much for the young man. Michael was of similar sentiment, but he was more curious as to how the young human would respond.

 _ **In a calm, understanding tone, she attempted to explain herself, "I'm merely performing my duties, Naruto-sama. As your maid and guardian, it is my responsibility to stay by your side as you rest so that I may better protect you from any nocturnal threats. Given your newly-realized position, it shouldn't be too farfetched to expect any kind of attempt on your life."**_

"Nice excuse, Fia-tan!" Serafall giggled out. "Anything to be with your beloved master!"

A fan bopping her on the head was the response to her teasing; but it did nothing to stop the small dusting of pink on the Devil Queen's cheeks.

 _ **He gulped, but remained facing away from her, his breathing labored with the fear he was feeling. "B-But, do you have to be undressed like that?"**_

"Seriously, do you?" Naruto asked nervously. He had never been in a situation like this before; so, he _knew_ his story counterpart wouldn't be either.

 _ **Her brows furrowed further at his query and she leaned over to get a better look of his face. His blush was so strong that his face was glowing red, and his eyes were clenched shut. What surprised her, though, were the tears that were narrowly escaping through his clenched eyelids.**_

All thoughts of teasing evaporated at that line. Instead, concern reigned supreme. What would make Naruto in tears in this situation.

Fearing the worst, Kushina reached over and grasped his hand to support him. She just hoped that she was _very_ wrong about her fears.

Meanwhile, Serafall and Yasaka had narrowed eyes and paid closer attention to the story.

 _ **The flattery she felt over Naruto's appreciation for her body despite his shyness about it was completely overshadowed by worry and concern over the degree of fear she could see in his face.**_

 _ **"Naruto-sama," she began softly, "look at me."**_

 _ **"N-No. I really shouldn't…" he uttered out quickly, his fear now evident in his voice.**_

 _ **She slowly snaked her hand around his chest, caressing it as she moved to get a gentle yet firm grip on his opposite shoulder. She heard him gasp and felt his body stiffen at the contact before she gently rolled his body around to face her. At this action, Naruto almost entered a fetal position, though he didn't turn away.**_

Kushina choked back a sob at seeing her son's reactions to the situation. It did little to help her fears about what might've happened to him in the past; story or not.

 _ **Again, in an effort to calm him, she softly reassured, "I'm not showing you anything that you didn't see on the night you treated my wounds, Naruto-sama. There's no need for you to be afraid." She brought her hand to his face and laid it there, caressing his cheek as her request turned into a gentle plea, "…Please…look at me?"**_

Despite the fact that she was almost fully nude with his son, Minato sent Grayfia a grateful look and nodded. She returned it and sent a concerned glance towards the real Naruto before refocusing on the story.

 _ **After a few moments, Naruto slowly opened his eyes and immediately sought out hers. What he saw there was shocking to him: this woman was gazing at him with tenderness, affection, and comfort. Her eyes were almost welling up, such was the softness he beheld within her eyes as they looked into his. Her dazzling soft smile only enhanced the emotions she was conveying to him through her gaze.**_

"Love…" whispered Gabriel in surprise, nearly covering her mouth in her shock. The others looked to her as she continued, "She loves him…"

The Devils looked just as surprised at the situation while Hagoromo smiled. "Is it really so surprising?" he asked, getting the attention of the room. "After all he did to preserve her, and his natural compassion and heart, it should be expected for her to feel a deep level of closeness towards young Naruto. It's not unnatural; even if the feelings are a tad intense."

The Angels nodded in understanding, agreeing with the Sage's words. The Devils, being more used to sinful emotions (in this instance, Lust) were not as quick to agree. Yasaka said nothing, her gaze focused on the feelings being conveyed through Story-Grayfia's eyes.

Azazel…Well, he was still out cold.

 _ **"Naruto-kun…" she began just above a whisper, causing his eyes to widen at the form of address she hadn't used before now. "I am yours. I will never, ever hurt you, or do anything to bring you to harm." Naruto's eyes began to well slightly upon hearing this before she continued, "When I say that I'm your maid, that's mostly for the benefit of others aside from us.**_

"Something tells me that you said something similar to Sirzechs, Grayfia-san," Kushina noted, earning a nod of confirmation. "You're not really one for PDAs, are you?"

"I feel that there are times and places for such moments," the maid replied.

 _ **But what I am to you is so much more than that. I've made a pact with you – the most sacred agreement that I, or any of my old house, could ever make with another. Even a marital bond isn't as binding as what I've chosen to gift upon you."**_

 _ **"W-What…?" Naruto breathed out, staring at her incredulously.**_

"Timeout!" Naruto cut in. "Does this mean that, in her eyes, we're…married?"

Dangerously calm, Serafall answered, "In a way. What she's saying is that her feelings go beyond a simple marriage contract. In other words; she doesn't need one." As she spoke, he grip tightened on her magical girl staff until it groaned in protest as the incressed pressure at each word Serafall spoke.

 _ **Her smile widened as she explained herself further, "I am your personal retainer, of my own free will and choosing, and I am happy with my decision. As such, I am yours, Naruto-sama. My services, my possessions," she caressed his cheek soothingly, "my body, my heart…my very life… And it's because you are the one I choose to give myself to." She rose up to stand tall and proud, causing his eyes to go even wider as her magnificent breasts jutted out with pride and dignity that was almost regal in its bearing.**_

Naruto blushed bright red and was barely able to suppress a nosebleed at the glorious sight.

Kushina bopped Minato for staring, making the man give an awkward chuckle that was turned into a whimper. After all, whenever his wife's hair started to rise, he knew he was in deep shit.

' _Interesting,'_ Yasaka noted, seeing the Uzumaki woman's hair rise up like nine fox tails.

 _ **"Not only can you gaze upon my body as much as you wish, but you are the only man I will ever give that right to. You are the only man who will ever have the right to touch me. You are the only man who deserves these rights. You saved my life; so, I'm honored to give it to you in gratitude."**_

"Brings back memories," Sirzechs said fondly before crying out as Grayfia pulled his cheek _hard_ with a blank face.

"Choose your words carefully, Sirzechs-sama…"

 _ **Giving him an encouraging smile, she nodded slightly, somehow giving him the message that he could, and should, rove his eyes all over her semi-nude form. Naruto was able to get the message and tentatively started doing just that. As he did, he noticed that Grayfia's smile widened even further; as if she was not only happy for him, but proud of him for doing so.**_

 _ **Seeing her master react so strongly to her also made her feel quite proud of herself. The she-devil knew she was beautiful beyond mortal compare or comprehension. There would certainly be nobody native to this world who would ever rival unearthly, immortal beauty such as that which Grayfia possessed. Even amongst the denizens of the Underworld where she had resided before being transported here, she possessed a beauty far beyond most of her peers!**_

"Modest much?" Serafall asked, crossing her arms and pouting. She wanted a certain whiskered blonde to see _her_ that way, dammit!

Unknown to her, Yasaka's nails dug into her chair.

 _ **But there was something about giving this truly golden-hearted young man the confidence to look upon her that made her feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that was unfamiliar to her.**_

 _ **Once he was done eyeing her up and down, almost as if to commit her body's image to memory, he returned his gaze to her face and gave a weak smile; though she could see he was still nervous.**_

"I feel you, buddy," Naruto called out to his story counterpart.

 _ **She smiled in understanding and slipped into bed behind him, pulling him a bit closer to her and pressing her naked breasts into his bare back. She felt him stiffen slightly as soon as she made contact, but he slowly relaxed after a few moments. She did nothing more except to cover their bodies with the comforter.**_

 _ **"I promise I'll help you be more comfortable around me, Naruto-sama," she stated before she turned off the lamp. Resting her head on the pillow and bid softly, "Good night, Naruto-sama; my Naruto-sama.**_

For some reason, hearing a woman call him _hers_ brought a strange warmth to Naruto's chest; something the others noted. Unseen by all, Ophis gave a faint smile at sensing the young man's brightened mood.

 _ **Sleep well."**_

 _ **He was barely able to whisper back, "Y-You too, Grayfia-chan."**_

 **[End Flashback]**

 **The teen found himself barely able to sleep that night. He had never been able to picture himself sharing a bed with anyone; let alone a beautiful woman like Grayfia.**

Serafall and Yasaka both started leaking power at that.

 **His blush grew a bit when he remembered turning to face her sometime later in the evening and just watching her resting face. He remembered how calm she looked and how the moon peeked through his window, hitting her so perfectly with its glow.**

 **Such an image would forever be remembered and held precious in his mind.**

"Not a bad image..." Azazel said, awakening...only to yelp at Sirzech attempted to blast him.

 **He was brought out of his reverie by Anko snickering. "I gotta say, gaki, you move pretty fast! Who would've thought you two would already be sharing your bed? Should we expect anything _more_ soon?"**

"...This is on your head!" Kushina said narrowing her eyes on Grayfia.

"My other self, you mean, and if I know how I am, she will be taking responcibility." The female devil said.

 **He groaned silently at her teasing, embarrassment returning.**

With a sigh, Naruto removed his hands from Kunuo's ears and told her it was all right to look again.

 **And Yakumo couldn't help commenting as well. "I think it's kinda romantic." The others looked to her and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on! Think about it! A woman finds herself rescued and cared for by a young hero?" she waved her hand to Grayfia and Naruto as she spoke. "She then chooses to repay him by offering her life to him?" Her tone was getting suggestive and she winked at Naruto, as if showing him that she knew what was happening. "And then, through all that they go through, both the woman and the hero's hearts find their way to one another."**

"Yakumo sure is a romantic...wonder if she has savior infatuation?" Kushina said, eyeing Naruto and starting to smile. Her son HAD pointed out he'd helped the actual her, after all.

"Mom!" Naruto cried, going red in the cheeks.

 **She sighed wistfully, her pink eyes gleaming with a mix of jealousy and longing. "I wish I could find someone like that."**

 **Unknown to her, a certain _beautiful green beast_ sneezed and lost count of his exercise reps. He then decided to make up for it with an even crazier exercise.**

"And I offically pity the other of Yakumo Kurama..." Naruto said with a shudder.

"Why?" Sirzechs asked.

"Let's just say...when you see a big-eyebrowed guy in green, even HELL with consider what happens next unholy, so best to look away the entire time...trust me..." Naruto shivvered.

At that, the the Faction leaders all shared a glance. Say what?!

 **Because of the teasing and commentary, Naruto began to feel lightheaded because of his blush and felt close to fainting. He was so focused on staying conscious that he missed Grayfia sporting a dusting of pink on her own cheeks. However, the woman had better composure than her master and was able to keep that reaction relatively unseen.**

 **To her surprise though, she was the only one who heard Naruto mumble, "That…does sound nice…"**

"Seeking to be loved is hardly asking too much." Gabriel said, frowning as she twiddled a card from the suit of hearts in her fingers. Saying that had actually touched on a nerve with her. There were times she disliked being an angel...being forbidden from being in a relashionship without turning into a Fallen was one of the worst things about it. But...she supposed that, at the very least and if he were willing, she COULD take up the role of an elder sister to Naruto.

Wasn't really the same as what she would have liked, but her options were limited unless she wanted black feathers...and as her and her brother were each the last of the Seraph, she couldn't let herself turn Fallen.

She'd have to have a chat with Naruto and his parents later about if Naruto was willing to be her adoptive little brother...

 **Her eyes closed and her lips curved into a faint smile at that, though she said nothing.**

 **Anko rolled her eyes at her newer student's fantasy. "Yea, keep dreaming girl. At any rate, let's get back to training. We have the rest of this week before you two go back to the Academy for _official_ ," they saw her use air quotes for the word, "team placements. We'll also start taking missions that day; but they'll be stupid D-Ranks."**

 **"What's wrong with those, sensei?"**

"Everything...lazy civillians making it so we have to do their chores...HATE those things!" Naruto groaned.

 **Naruto asked, finally calming down from everything.**

 **The woman shook her head and sighed. "You'll see soon enough. Just…don't get your hopes up about your first mission. More than likely you'll be annoyed about it. I know that _I_ was…"**

Minato, Kushina, and Naruto all nodded. D-ranks were a pain!

 **Both Genin looked to one another before they shrugged. They'd just have to take her word for it.**

* * *

 **Naruto was laying on the roof of his home, stargazing as he let his mind wander. It was the night before the Team Placements, but he wasn't concerned about them since he already had his team.**

 **What he _was_ thinking about was his situation with Grayfia. He'd be the first to say that he was happy she was in his life, because she had already been a great influence. She was kind to him, she respected him (even if he felt it was too much for a Genin like him), and she believed in him. **

Kushina gave the maid a nod, greatful for that.

 **He could count the people who acted the same on his two hands.**

Everyone except Naruto frowned at that.

 **But, even with all of the support she was giving him, he still felt…intimidated by her actions; mainly the ones that would most definitely be seen as intimate in nature. He wouldn't deny that he felt…special at having such actions aimed towards him, but old memories overshadowed such feelings.**

 **The teen didn't have the best of luck in regards to interactions with the fairer sex. Girls in his class saw him as a nuisance – except for Hinata, who just seemed nervous around him – and Sakura would never hesitate to bean him in the head for little things.**

Kushina snarled.

"Say, Miss Uzumaki...since I'm a master of water and ice-based magic powerful enough to freeze an entire region of the Underworld...would you mind if I froze this Sakura girl and shattered her into a pile of frostbite-blackened dimond dust on your behalf for all the abuse she put Naru-kun through?" Serafall said.

"Please, thank you, and gladly!" Kushina said.

Serafall smiled. It felt good racking up brownie points with the whiskered blonde's mother. If all went well, Naruto would be hers, so she wanted a good impression on her side.

 **So, it was easy to say that girls his age were difficult to be around.**

 **However, they weren't the reason for his sheer anxiety when Grayfia presented her body to him that one night. No, the real reason for that was because of run-ins with older women in the village. Most were accidental as he wound up bumping into one or two a week and, due to his height, would inadvertently bump his face against their chest. He never really got the chance to apologize before he was labeled as a "pervert" by the embarrassed woman and chased off.**

 **Though, that was nothing compared to _that_ time. He shuddered at the memory, for it was a definite scar on his psyche.**

 **[Flashback]**

 _ **Ten-year-old Naruto was making his way home from the Academy. His spirits were down that day since he failed at the weapons training. Because of his depressed mood, his gaze had been at the ground instead of straight ahead. And it was once again, due to not watching where he was going, that would cause him to bump into yet another older member of the fairer sex.**_

"I really have shit luck in this, don't I?" Naruto noted with a twitching brow.

 _ **As he turned a corner, he was unaware of a young woman – a recently promoted Chunin – turning the same corner, but from the other side. As such, he bumped into her by mistake. However, she was bigger than he was and ended up tripping over him. The result was her landing on top of his body. Unfortunately, Naruto had tried to grab onto something to stop his descent…and that something just so happened to be her chest. He cried out and removed his hand, looking up at the woman and stammering out a quick and loud apology.**_

"I'm/He's dead," Naruto and all the men, sans Hagoromo, spoke up simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the women felt pity for the younger Naruto, knowing that it wasn't his fault. However, feminine rage often ignored rational thought at times.

 _ **The woman was a brunette with the same red fang tattoos on her face as his classmate Kiba; though had three ninken with her instead of the usual one that Naruto would see with most Inuzuka shinobi.**_

"Aw fuck, it's Hana," cursed Naruto, palming his face.

"Language," admonished Kushina, only to have Minato place a hand on her shoulder.

"I think we should let him have this one, dear…" he said in light of the situation.

 _ **She was gritting her teeth, and her bangs were overshadowing her eyes. Angered, she acted on instinct and screamed "PERVERT!" at him like most of his accidental run-ins with older women…but the rest of the encounter took a very different path than his past ones did.**_

Naruto felt his brow twitch as the male Devils and Azazel all hummed an undertaker theme. Meanwhile, Michael added his two cents, "I'll see about getting you a responsible retainer when you pass."

"Not funny…" deadpanned the Uzumaki.

 _ **Instead of slapping him and running off in embarrassment like every other woman, this one started to unleash furious rage upon the boy, straddling his stomach and pummeling the young boy underneath her without letting up even for a moment. Poor Naruto, having not been properly trained or prepared for a situation like this, was helpless against her onslaught. His attempts at crying out for help or mercy went unheeded, and mostly unfinished as she was beating him so furiously he didn't even have the chance to form words. His assailant, however, was screaming what could be called frenzied battle cries at the top of her lungs.**_

The air grew heavy and _everyone_ took a couple of steps away from Kushina as she glared at the image of Hana beating up her son. Naruto didn't even have the courage to try and say that it was _really_ him that was getting wailed on.

 _ **Naruto could feel his face began to swell and grow numb, and he started to feel dizzy and nauseous. His attempts to get his hands in front of his face to try and defend himself failed, as the woman eventually broke his fingers and then his arms to keep him from raising them again. Naruto didn't know what was happening – all he knew was that he was defenseless and helpless, and he could do little more than wait for this horrible ordeal to end. As he felt himself beginning to black out, the last thing he remembered was her three ninken attacking her and pulling her off of him.**_

"Memo to self: thank the dogs." Naruto muttered while Kushina nodded.

 _ **"Oh, you three are going to get it, now!" he barely heard her yell as she gave chase to them, leaving him lying on the streets. He lost consciousness a moment afterwards.**_

"Ah, blissful sleep," Falbium declared.

"Amen to that," Azazel agreed, having had his fair share of _blissful sleeps_ in his unnaturally long life.

 _ **Days later,**_

"DAYS?!" Kushina roared, looking ready to go on a warpath for Hana's head.

"We should-" Michael began to say before he was cut off by Gabriel.

"Trust me, brother; you _don't_ want to step into her crosshairs."

 _ **Naruto opened his eyes as he became conscious. Finding himself disoriented over waking in a different place than he last remembered being, he looked around to get his bearings, almost instantly recognizing the sterile appearance and smell of a hospital room.**_

 _ **"Naruto-kun?" he heard a relieved female voice greet him. He turned in the direction of the voice, thankful to gaze toward the sight of ANBU member Cat.**_

 _ **"Hi, Cat," he breathed out weakly, offering her a smile that was just as weak as his voice.**_

 _ **"You gave us quite a scare, there, kid." He could hear the relief and gratitude in her voice as she continued, "You've been out cold for three days."**_

Before Kushina could get any angrier, Naruto and Minato rushed over to her and pulled her out of earshot of the others to calm her down. It was tense as they conversed while none of the others could hear what was sead for a few minutes before the Uzumaki Family came back, Kushina still having a frown on her face but no longer releasing any killing intent.

 _ **Naruto's eyes widened at this. Three days?! He'd never been out for that long! Cat pulled a chair up to the side of his bed and began to explain what had happened to him and what had been done about it. She made sure to speak to him in a concerned manner, showing how worried she was for his well-being.**_

 _ **He liked Cat. She was always so kind to him and looked out for him more than even old man Hokage did on occasion.**_

"Gotta remember to have a talk with Yugao," Naruto noted, glad to see his mother giving a small smile at the ANBU woman's image. "I don't think I ever thanked her for looking out for me."

 _ **After telling him what had happened, he was informed that his assaulter was a Chunin named Hana Inuzuka. Surprisingly, it had been Hana's mother, Tsume, who brought Naruto to the hospital after being led to his position by Hana's own ninken! Cat had also informed him that what Hana did to him was a crime, and that she had been arrested, interrogated and punished for her assault upon Naruto.**_

"Oh, right," Naruto noted. "I was still a civilian at the time, and ninja cannot bring harm to civilians. I don't remember what the punishment is…"

"It depends on the level of injuries," Minato explained, both for Naruto and the other Readers. "Based on yours, I'd say that she was heavily fined and had her license suspended for quite a while. Probably more punishment than that considering your Jinchūriki status."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully at that while the others felt the punishment would definitely fit the crime.

 _ **The girl had apparently become absolutely mortified when her mother and Cat herself brought her to the Intensive Care Ward and she saw just what she had done to a ten-year-old boy. Cat had been charged with guarding his room by the Hokage himself, and had remained in the room the entire time, and this is where she had remained until he awoke. After explaining the story in full, she left the room to let him rest, assuring him that should he need her, she would be just outside the door.**_

 _ **It was a couple of hours later that he received another visitor. The woman who was entering the room had the red fang marks of the Inuzuka Clan on her cheeks, but unlike his assailant, who had straight brown hair, this woman had a head of hair that was as wild as a lion's mane. She was accompanied by a large wolf-sized dog with an eyepatch and one of his ears missing, as well as the three ninken that were with Hana when she assaulted him.**_

"She looks good after ten years," Kushina noted with a smile, happy to see the image of an old friend.

Her brow then twitched at the sight of Azazel, and surprisingly Ajuka, perving at Tsume's image. With aim built upon _years_ of ninja training, she threw a spare chair and split it in two with her Chakra Chain; the two pieces scoring direct hits on the perverts.

"Eyes off my friend, ttebane," she growled out.

"...Thankfully, it wasn't Mikoto..." Minato muttered. THAT would've turned ALL kinds of grusome REAL fast, Kushina and the Uchiha woman were so close. Even JIRAIYA knew better that to risk Mikoto, Kushina or both ladies mad at him at once by perving on them...

 _ **With a somber and apologetic frown, the woman introduced herself as she bowed humbly to him. "Hello, Naruto-san. My name is Tsume Inuzuka, and it was my daughter who put you here. I'm here to formally apologize to you on my clan's behalf and to let you know that not only will I be paying for your hospital stay personally, but my clan will also be compensating you for what you've suffered at Hana's hands."**_

 _ **"It's…nice to meet you, Tsume-san," he offered hesitantly, to which she gave him an encouraging and grateful smile.**_

 _ **"Naruto, my daughter has a few things she would like to say to you…" Naruto tensed up at this, his eyes growing wide with fear; a reaction which didn't go unnoticed by Tsume.**_

"She shouldn't be anywhere _near_ my baby boy!" Kushina almost hissed out, prompting Naruto to grab her hand to calm her down while Minato gave her a one-armed embrace.

 _ **"I assure you that she won't hurt you. And ANBU Cat and I will also be in the room so you'll be protected. Okay?"**_

 _ **Naruto took a few breaths and, feeling as though he could trust this woman, nodded his assent shakily.**_

 _ **Tsume smiled at him before returning to the doorway and looking around behind the door. "You can come in now, Hana. Cat, you should come in as well to help calm the kid's nerves."**_

 _ **Naruto gulped in nervous anticipation as he watched Cat appear through the doorway, followed by his brown-haired assailant. He noticed this time that her eyes, instead of gleaming with frenzied rage, were welling with tears of regret and remorse. It was clear she was attempting to school her features, but the moment she made eye contact with Naruto, any control she might have had over herself began to shatter.**_

The sincerity of the girl's remorse quelled the growing rage Kushina was feeling.

 _ **As her face morphed into a grimace of sadness, sobs came up from her throat and her tears began to flow freely. She took two quick steps before falling to her knees and placing her hands and head to the floor. Naruto was taken aback by this, and even Tsume went wide-eyed in surprise at Hana's action. It reminded her of a guilty pack mate appeasing to their alpha.**_

"Whoa," the Uzumaki Family all uttered as one. Hagoromo, having seen how the ninja world acts over the years, quickly explained to the others about how the Inuzuka were of a Pack Mentality.

 _ **"I'm sorry…" she cried out as she continued sobbing, "I'm so sorry."**_

 _ **She continued sobbing for several minutes while chanting out apologies with her head to the floor. She eventually picked her head up and rose to her feet.**_

 _ **"It wasn't your fault for what happened!" she cried. "I…I had just come back from a mission that went horribly wrong. I was upset and angry when you bumped into me. And when your hand landed…well, where it did…I…" Her sobs and tears intensified as she finished, "I'm so sorry! I just saw red!"**_

Naruto grimaced at the crying image of Hana, his willingness to forgive quickly taking hold of him. She was having a bad day and he accidently set off the spark of her explosion.

He didn't like being the scapegoat for her rage, but he understood.

 _ **She quickly ran up to him before anyone could react and threw her arms around his shoulders, crying into his hair as she held him to herself in a need-filled hug. Her voice was filled with tears as she continued, "I don't even remember doing what I did to you! I just remember losing my temper and snapping! I never imagined that I might almost beat a little boy to death! Please, forgive me!"**_

 _ **Her sobs continued as Hana, in addition to holding onto him almost as if he was a lifeline, was now peppering his face with kisses as well. Naruto, feeling his own tears, slowly put his arms around the girl, not knowing what else to do, and certainly not knowing what to say.**_

 _ **"Please," she begged anew, "Let me make this right, somehow. I'll do whatever it takes, okay? I'll…I'll teach you any skills I have that you want to know. I'll buy you food whenever you need some! I'll even let you sleep with me if you want!**_

"WHAT?!" Kushina, Serafall, and Yasaka all roared, their eyes turning red at Hana's offer.

 _ **Please, let me make this right, somehow! Please!"**_

 _ **Everyone took note of how desperate and sorry she was by her tone.**_

 _ **Naruto's hold on the girl tightened, his own tears now coming unbidden. As reluctant and as frightened as he was, he couldn't turn away such a heartfelt apology; especially when he could easily see that she was truly broken over what she'd done to him. As if she could feel his terror, she pulled back and placed her hand gently on his face before kissing him directly on his lips.**_

The three women nearly exploded at that before they forced themselves to calm down; a repeating mantra of it being a story and not real going through their minds. Naruto, however, was secretly glad that his first kiss in the story was with a _girl_ and not…

He shuddered and stamped the memory into the deepest, darkest parts of his mind. He hated bringing it up!

 _ **It was one of assurance so that she could show how regretful she was; so, she took care not to give any mixed messages. This somehow seemed to calm him down, at which point he promptly passed out.**_

 _ **The damage however, despite Naruto and Hana's burying the hatchet, had been done to Naruto's psyche – he would find himself instinctively wary in the presence of older women, especially when they appeared to be volatile.**_

Yasaka frowned at that, seeing the link now between this trauma and his fear at seeing Grayfia almost naked in his room. His was mentally scarred; which meant that the silverette Queen had a _lot_ of work ahead of her in helping him recover.

 **[End Flashback]**

 **Now, in the present time since that day, Naruto has already been incredibly nervous, if not on edge, around older women. Whenever one would interact with him, he would instinctively tense up his body and look for any means of escape.**

Kushina took a few deep breaths at that, trying to keep calm.

 **There were a couple of exceptions, fortunately.**

Serafall nodded. She aimed to snag Naruto for herself after all, despite being around since before the Fall of Man from Eden...wouldn't do if Naruto was panicked around her.

 **However, those exceptions took some time to get past his psychological walls. Anko was one, having gotten through to him with a shared love of pranks and a similar "mask" like his own. Cat was another, but he had known her for a long time.**

 **Surprisingly, Hana was another.**

"WHAT?!" Kushina cried.

 **It took a long time, but she had eventually gotten through to him when she saw him tending to an injured cat (which happened to be a certain infamous hell cat).**

"'Infamous hell cat'?" The Three Faction leaders all looked at Naruto skeptically.

"Trust me...deal with THAT THING once without wanting to blast it, or any time you have to deal with it after, you'll understand why that is." Naruto said, already having a good idea of what the book meant by that.

 **The two grew closer over medical training; though not in a ninja sense. Naruto just lacked the control for such things, and he never would have that kind of control given his lineage.**

 **But, that didn't mean he couldn't learn other kinds of medical practice. And with Hana's help, Naruto had been able to get enough experience as, in professional terms, a field medic. It was this experience that played a huge factor in his tending to Grayfia's earlier wounds.**

"Ah...seems my other has something to thank her for." Grayfia said.

"Wait...if that's the case, wouldn't that make story-Hana your other's mistress? And since the other Naruto in the story is the story-Grayfia's master...and no good servent serves more than one household..." Michael stated before trailing off.

Grayfia turned red as her husband's hair at that! Naruto faired no better at the idea of his counterpart being made to marry the story's version of Hana Inuzuka.

Kushina, Serafall, and Yasaka all developed dangerous twitches at that idea.

 **Though, old scars never fully heal. Even with nearly a week of having her share his bed, Naruto was still on edge around Grayfia when she went to sleep. He felt silly about it, not to mention embarrassed, but he couldn't help his natural reaction.**

"Spoiling the joys and wonders of women...I swear, my old boss invented Gynophobia JUST to piss me off..." Azazel grumbled, crossing his arms with a childish pout.

The Uzumaki family all looked at the Fallen Angel with shock.

"Am I the only one seeing...?" Naruto started

"Yeah...they're exactly alike..." Minato muttered.

"Can I snap those wings of his off and shove them up his dick and out his ass in that case?" Kushina asked, LAST thing she, or any woman, ever wanted to deal with was another Jiraiya.

 **"Naruto-sama?" called Grayfia from behind him, earning his attention. "It's getting late. I've prepared your bed for you."**

"She better stay out of it this time..." Kushina growled, a sentiment both Serafall and Yasaka silently shared with the redheaded woman.

 **He returned his gaze to the night sky, sighing softly. "Thank you, Grayfia-chan. I'll be inside in a moment."**

 **"Of course," she replied, but she stayed out on the rooftop with him. "Is everything alright, Naruto-sama?"**

 **"…Just thinking about some things," he answered after a moment. "Silly things…"**

"Not wanting to worry people I understand, but what's on your mind is serious, and you have someone that is willing to help you." Gabriel frowned.

 **She frowned at his distant tone. She could see that these so-called _silly things_ were truly troubling to him.**

Grayfia nodded. She was of a similar mindset as Gabriel about that. Wait...did the devil just think she agreed with...? Ok that was strange.

 **"Naruto-kun," she said softly, causing him to turn his gaze to her once again. She slowly approached him, bringing a gentle had to his face when she was close enough. To her comfort, he relaxed at her touch and she mentally noted that his whisker marks were sensitive areas. With a saddened and longing gleam in her eyes, she spoke up once more, "I wish you would talk to me. I'm here for you if you need someone to speak to."**

 **"I know you are," he immediately returned, showing his confliction through his gaze. "But this is…something I need to sort out myself. Please understand…"**

 **He was surprised when he saw her shed a single tear down the right side of her face. Removing her hand from his face, she gave him a sad smile. "Of course. Your private affairs are your own. Forgive me, it wasn't my intention to pry."**

 **"No, it's fine," he assured with a faint smile in hopes of reassuring her. Standing up and heading inside he informed her, "I'm going to wash up before bed."**

 **"Yes, Naruto-sama," she answered with a respectful bow before following him inside.**

 **Later that evening, Naruto once again found it difficult to sleep; but this time it wasn't just his anxiety. His back was to Grayfia on the bed**

Grayfia yelped and hid behind her husband at the sudden outraged glare Kushina gave her.

 **and he sighed softly so as not to wake her.**

 ** _'I feel like such an ass, now. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings. Dammit, why is this so hard?'_ he asked himself. _'She won't hurt me like Hana once did… But still I… I feel so nervous…'_**

 **As he was trying to sort out his troubles, he was unaware o** **f Grayfia, still awake, staring at his back with a concerned expression. Her silver orbs softened and she was restraining herself from reaching out to him; from holding him close to comfort him. She had to take things slow with her master, otherwise he would likely shut her out.**

 **But it was getting hard for her to continue doing so.**

"That would be difficult for anyone of my family." Grayfia said.

 ** _'Naruto-kun…'_ she thought sadly before slowly succumbing to slumber.**

* * *

 **Naruto yawned in his seat in the classroom. He was hoping to catch a few winks before Iruka arrived to assign the teams. It wasn't like he and Yakumo, who was seated next to him, needed to be there. But, they couldn't just leave and Anko had told them to wait there for her.**

"Crud...even if its redundant, gotta do it..." Naruto muttered.

 **Turning to his sole teammate with a tired look, he asked in a hushed tone, "Could you put up a genjutsu around me so it looks like I'm still awake? I'm gonna pass out any minute…"**

Kushina gave the devil maid a look.

 **She gave him an understanding smile and nodded. "Sure. What are teammates for?"**

 **He smiled back gratefully before he rested his head on the desk, almost instantly falling asleep.**

Serafall cooed at the image of Naruto sleeping. Oh, he was just so cute! She wished she were there to cuddle up with him and make him use her bussom as a pillow for his head! She loved the idea!

 **Yakumo, true to her word, put up a genjutsu around him and sat patiently. No one seemed to take heed of it except for Hinata Hyuuga, who looked at Naruto in concern.**

"Oh?" Kushina said, eyeing her son and smiling michvously.

 **Meeting Yakumo's gaze, the genjutsu user shook her head with a smile and mouthed, _"He's just tired. He'll be fine"_.**

 **Relieved, Hinata nodded in thanks before turning back to face the front of the class. Iruka had finally arrived and was giving one last speech to inform them of what they should expect, and be expected of, as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. After the speech, he began to call out the teams. Teams 1 through 6 were filled with most of the class, but none had the clan heirs/heiresses in them.**

 **Finally, the man reached Team 7. "Under the guidance of Kakashi Hatake, Team 7 will consist of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno," he ignored her joyful cry, "and Sai Shimura."**

"Oh...THAT won't end well!" Naruto winced.

"Shimura!?" his parents yelped. "Danzo...what the hell is that...creature...up to?!"

The Faction leaders all looked confused.

"If you have to know, Danzo's a jingoist, an extremist, conspirator, and a corrupt official. Danzo's overly pro-militant extreimest and archaic views made him a danger to the village he professed to love and protect as he created the hatred in some of Kohona's greatest and major enemies due to his harsh, cruel indifference to the suffering of others. Not only that, but he's defused non-violent solutions so things have to be settled with killing. Also, despite Danzo's views that ninja should always be ready to sacrifice their lives, he was afraid of death, making him a hypocrite."

Naruto then started explaining about the dirty deeds Danzo had done, at least to the extent that had been uncovered so far after Danzo had been killed before the war against the Akatsuki had taken up priority.

By the time he was dine, everyone looked sick.

"Ugh!...this guy sounds too tretcherous for even the original Lucifer to want anything to do with!" Sirzech spat.

 **Sasuke said nothing, but he had a thoughtful look on his face at the identity of his new sensei. Sakura was fighting herself not to go into a happy rant about her team; specifically a certain teammate. And a rather pale Genin offered a polite smile to his new teammates, but it weirded them out instead of endeared them.**

 **"Under the guidance of Kurenai Yuhi," no one noticed Yakumo clench her fists, "Team 8 consists of Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Kiba Inuzuka."**

 **The three Genin moved to sit next to one another. Kiba was grinning confidently while Shino was unexpressive, at least to the other students, while Hinata offered the two of them polite smiles.**

 **"Team 9 is still in commission. Under the guidance of Asuma Sarutobi, Team 10 will consist of Choji Akamichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka."**

 **The three were already seated together by coincidence. Choji was smiling contently, happy to be teamed with his friends. Shikamaru sighed at being teamed with Ino, but he knew their fathers all wanted this; so he said nothing. Ino grumbled at not being teamed with Sasuke, but she said nothing either. Like Shikamaru, she knew her father wanted to recreate the legendary trio he had been a part of.**

"Pardon?"

"They come from families that were always close. So much so that they have near symbiotic-level coordination on the field." Minato explained.

 **"And lastly, under the guidance of Anko Mitarashi, Team 11 will consist of Yakumo Kurama and Naruto Uzumaki," finished Iruka, catching many student by surprise since they were under the notion that Naruto had failed. Not to mention the team only had two Genin compared to every other team. "Your teachers will be here soon, so please be patient and welcome to your first day as Leaf Ninja."**

 **With that, he made to leave, but a bundle crashed in through the window before it unfurled and a banner was seen hanging up. The banner stated " _Team 11's sexy sensei, Anko Mitarashi_ " and said woman stood proudly in front of it. "Alright brats, follow me to Field 17!"**

"Still would like her as part of my peerage..." Serafall smirked.

 **Yakumo gently nudged her teammate awake and the two of them followed Anko out of the window she had just broken. However, the rest of the room's inhabitants looked on in confusion at the sight of a silverette woman in a uniform waiting for them. What confused them further was how she offered Naruto a bow before she followed him after the eccentric Jonin.**

* * *

 **"This is bullshit," Naruto grumbled as he and Yakumo painted a fence that bordered someone's home. "How is _this_ a mission?"**

"...I hate D-ranks..." Minato, Kushina, and Naruto all simoutaniously deadpaned.

 **"These are just glorified chores," Yakumo added, scowling at the fence in front of her.**

 **"Told ya," was all Anko said as she watched them work beside Grayfia. The Jonin had told the devilish maid that she couldn't help Naruto since it was his team's mission, and she wasn't a part of the team technically.**

"Technicalilities...talk about a love-hate relashionship..." Sirzech said with a small chuckle.

 **"How many of these do we have to do before we can get a better mission?" Naruto asked as the two Genin finished their _mission_.**

 **Anko raised a finger and opened her mouth to answer, but she paused. Closing her mouth, she scratched her cheek and chuckled awkwardly. "Actually, I don't really know how many…"**

 **That earned her three reactions: a madly twitching brow from Naruto, a palming face from Yakumo, and Grayfia rolling her eyes.**

 **"Hey, come on! Cut me some slack here, guys!" cried the violette Jonin. "This is my first time actually being a sensei to anyone, so I'm learning as I go; just like you!"**

"A fair point." Yasaka nodded.

 **Grayfia sighed at her argument and suggested, "Perhaps it would be best if we spoke to Hokage-sama about this, Mitarashi-san?"**

 **She sweatdropped at the looks she was getting from her students and the she-devil. "Yea, maybe it would…"**

Grayfia smirked, hands on her hips at her own counterpart's minor victory over Anko. HA! Take THAT!

* * *

 **Anko's brow was twitching irritably as Sarutobi chuckled at her question. "Somehow, I'm not surprised that you're asking me this question, Anko," he commented, making her brow twitch again. "But, to answer it, there is not real set number of D-Rank Missions that a team must take before going on a C-Rank. It mainly depends on the input of the sensei, and the report on their progress that you are to turn into me weekly."**

 **"Oh yea," she said with a snap of her fingers before she pulled out a small scroll and tossed it to the Hokage. "Knew I was forgetting something…"**

 **Naruto and Sarutobi chuckled at that while the older man looked through the report. His smile remained as he read it, nodding at certain points before something made him raise a brow. "You had a run-in with Kurenai? I take it she wasn't exactly confident about Yakumo's reinstatement as a kunoichi?"**

"Oh boy..." Naruto winced. That wasn't going to end well.

 **Naruto sighed at this while Grayfia frowned. "That's an understatement…" grouched the Uzumaki.**

 **"That woman has too little faith in Kurama-san," Grayfia added.**

 **[Flashback]**

 ** _Naruto and Yakumo were on their fourth day of training, and they had been coming along nicely. The Genin kunoichi was already showing how much progress she had made under Anko's intense physical regimen while Naruto had finally succeeded in forming a single chakra chain for each arm._**

"Sweet!" Naruto exclaimed. "Those things are awesome!"

"Damn right they are, ttebane!" Kushina agreed, fist pumping alongside her son while Minato palmed his face in embarrassment. The others looked amused at the Uzumaki Family's dynamic.

 ** _Now, they were standing in front of Anko with a blank paper in their hands. "What you two are holding is what is publicly known as chakra paper._**

"Elemental Training so soon?" Minato noted with surprise. "I didn't learn about that until I was a Chunin."

"Same here," Kushina added.

"Well, at least my sensei this time isn't holding anything back," Naruto mused with a grin, excited that his counterpart would be more prepared in this story.

"Do ninja normally have a single affinity?" Ajuka asked curiously.

"Most of the time," Minato answered. "But sometimes, they can have secondary affinities that are weaker."

"And there are also the bloodlines that can mix two elements together perfectly; like how Ice Style was wind and water," Naruto added with a sad smile, remembering Haku's sacrifice.

 ** _What it does is show you what elemental affinity you have. Many things can happen depending on the affinity you have. For example, a fire affinity will burn the paper while an earth one will make it crumble away into dust."_**

Both Yasaka and her daughter looked interested in that, nodding to show they understood the process and results.

 **" _So, we just apply chakra?" Naruto guessed._**

 **" _Yep. Now, go ahead and-"_**

 **" _Anko!" cried out a familiar voice as a woman with raven tresses and wine red eyes dropped down onto the training field._**

"Ah crap! That's Kurenai," Naruto groaned, already dreading where this was going.

 ** _Standing up, she gave Yakumo and Grayfia a glance before refocusing on her friend. "What's this I hear about the Kurama Clan letting Yakumo out?"_**

"How rude!" Gabriel exclaimed with a pout. "She speaks about poor Yakumo as if she wasn't there!"

"She seems like the prissy type," Azazel noted rubbing his chin and ignoring the awkward cough Michael gave.

 ** _Anko rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Seems pretty obvious. She was helped and given the OK to reapply as a Genin." She waved an arm to the other two and finished, "It was thanks to the gaki and Ms. Chambermaid_**

Grayfia's brow twitched. She was not a fan of the joking reference to her proud position as Head Maid.

 ** _that she was able to get helped. Then the old man gave her the clearance to rejoin the ranks."_**

 ** _Yakumo was glaring at the Genjutsu Mistress, holding herself from doing anything rash._**

Falbium shook his head. "This won't end well."

"You think?" Naruto muttered.

 ** _It also helped that Naruto had placed a hand on her shoulder to help calm her down._**

Gabriel sent him a smile that caused him to look bashful, annoying two certain women in the room. "She's lucky to have you as her friend."

"I just wish I could've done more for her." Naruto voiced about the Kurama Heiress.

 ** _The Uzumaki then spoke up, "Grayfia-chan was able to get Yakumo's demon to form an agreement with her, and the two merged into a single being."_**

 **" _You actually had her accept that demon?" Kurenai asked in shock. "Why on earth would you do that?!"_**

"To save her life," Grayfia replied with a frigid tone, one that caused Sirzechs to pale. That tone always left him frozen in fear; especially after the _one time_ he forgot to give her something for their anniversary!

 ** _Grayfia was the one to answer. "Both Kurama-san and her inner demoness had been sharing a body and psyche for too long that separating them from one another would've been detrimental to her health both psychically and mentally. I spoke to the succubus and had her make an agreement with Kurama-san that would benefit them both."_**

 **" _And you're sure that was wise? Aren't succubae famous for their tempting ways and cunning?"_**

"They are, but they know when not to press their luck," Yasaka explained, having interacted with the lustful species on various occasions.

 ** _The silverette woman easily held back her smirk. "Not to worry. I made sure to make the message_ very _clear with that temptress._**

The real Grayfia didn't even bother to hold back hers.

 ** _And it was Naruto-sama's idea to have me assist her with her issue after having sensed the darker nature within."_**

"You know, she should really have more faith in what the old monkey says," Kushina commented. "He has faith in Yakumo-chan; so, she should too."

"It's probably not easy for her to since she has first-hand experience with the demoness that possessed Yakumo," Minato replied.

"Regardless of that," Sirzechs cut in, "those without proper reason should trust those _with_ reason."

"We Devils may be seen as deceivers and tempters," Serafall added, "but that doesn't mean that we immediately fall in those categories."

"It's blind fear," Ajuka noted. "Humans are so afraid that they let their fears cloud their minds."

"Which leads to them suffering to the darker temptations of the world," Falbium finished.

 ** _The red-eyed Jonin turned to the blonde Genin at that. "You sensed her?"_**

 **" _More like I sensed the negativity coming from her. I'm able to pick up darker emotions and intentions, so I was able to feel Yakumo and her demon. I then told old man Hokage, he gave me permission to visit her, and the rest you know."_**

"That won't be enough to convince her," Azazel said with a shake of his head. "She's too stuck in her ways." He then smirked and added, "She needs to get laid so that she could not be so stiff."

"Hey! Not in front of Kunuo, first of all. Secondly, she was dating someone!" Naruto snapped, recalling Kurenai and Asuma as he covered the young fox-girl's ears again.

Michael and Gabriel looked embarrassed for their Fallen brother's comments. "Despite Azazel's...crudeness," Michael began, "he makes a good point about her being too stubborn. Sarutobi is older and wiser than she is."

"Age usually brings wisdom, and wisdom makes for a great leader," Gabriel added.

"Not to mention that Grayfia is more than a match for any succubus," Yasaka couldn't help but add. "She can match a Satan in power. A succubus stands no chance."

Grayfia sent the kitsune woman a grateful nod for the praise.

 **" _Not like it really matters to you, right?" growled out Yakumo._**

"Here we go..." Naruto sighed.

 ** _"Since that day, you gave up on me, and for_ years _I was left locked away out of fear!_**

Many of the Readers frowned at that.

 ** _And all the while, you, the teacher that should've supported me and guided me, went on with your life without a damn care in the world!" Her pink eyes began to gleam dangerously at Kurenai. "You have no right…no right to interfere with my ninja career!_**

"Damn straight, she doesn't!" Serafall cheered.

 ** _You had your chance and you blew it; so, do me a favor and_ fuck off _, Kurenai-_ sensei _!_**

Yasaka sent a grateful smile to Naruto for once again covering Kunou's ears to block out the cuss word.

 ** _And for the record, don't talk about me like I'm not here WHEN I'M STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"_**

Azazel was laughing up a storm as he applauded Yakumo and her roasting of Kurenai. "I like this girl! She's fiesty!"

 ** _The woman recoiled at the tirade Yakumo had just given her and looked to the others, only to see no support whatsoever for her; not even from her friend._**

"Looks like Mitarashi-san _can_ be sensible when the time is right," Grayfia noted, still not entirely liking the Snake Mistress.

 **[Flashback End]**

 **"I see," noted the Hokage. "Well, whatever the case, it was my approval that led you to helping her. As such, my word is final."**

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Sarutobi on that.

 **The Kurama heiress smiled and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."**

 **"Of course. Now, I don't see in here what your affinities are? If you two would please…?" he asked while Anko handed the two of them another sheet of chakra paper.**

"If only tha red-eyed, prissy excuse of a teacher hadn't inturrupted before..." Ajuka said.

 **Yakumo was handed a paper first and flowed her chakra into it. After a moment, it crinkled and collapsed in itself until it was rolled up into a small ball.**

 **"Nice one," praised Anko with a smirk. "You have a lightning affinity, which is pretty rare outside of the Hidden Cloud."**

Yasaka nodded. A lot of certain type of youki stayed in certain areas like that.

 **Naruto was then handed his and it split in two as soon as he put a small amount of chakra, separating the paper into two perfect halves. "Well…from what Anko-sensei said earlier about the other two affinities, and how obvious it would be for a water one, I'm guessing my affinity is wind?" he asked.**

Minato and Naruto both nodded.

 **"That's correct," Sarutobi confirmed. "Like lightning, wind natured chakra is very rare here in the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf. I only know of two other people with that kind of affinity, and one of them you've already met. However, I wouldn't recommend asking for his assistance since he can be fairly…intense with his methods."**

Naruto scowled. Danzo again...

 **He nodded in understanding. "Who would you recommend then, old man?"**

 **"My son has a wind affinity like you, but since he has his own team, it'll be difficult to find time for him to help you. Although, I will tell you the first step to gaining control is to split a leaf in half with your chakra. Give it a try when you have a free moment."**

 **"Right," agreed Naruto with a grin.**

 **"And for you, Yakumo, I only really know of one practitioner of lightning jutsu; sans myself, of course," continued the Hokage.**

 **"And there's no way that lazy pervert will just actively help you," added Anko. "I can talk to him, but he has his own team as well."**

 **"In the meantime, I'll give you the first step as well. What you need to do is grab a small piece of metal, and then you're going to try and electrify it with your chakra."**

 **"I see," replied the kunoichi with a nod of understanding. "I'll be sure to practice, Hokage-sama."**

 **He nodded in return before he finished the scroll containing Anko's report. "Well, I can agree that this team has already placed itself ahead of the pack since you all began to train a week in advance. I can also see that it would be a waste of time to have your team perform D-Ranks since they're mainly meant to help establish teamwork. However, I can't just send you on a C-Rank on your own so soon."**

 **"Meaning…?" pressed Anko.**

 **"I want your team to act as backup for another team. That way, you can all get a feel for a higher ranked mission while also lowering the risk of being overwhelmed."**

 **"What team?" asked Naruto.**

 **"Team 9, which consists of Might Guy, Neji Hyuuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten," answered Sarutobi.**

Naruto paled. Oh...that was bad!

 **To the surprise of the other three, Anko groaned and moved to a wall to bang her head against it. "Why, old man? Why set up my team with Mr. _Youthful_?"**

"...Don't ask...but remember that warning I gave about even Hell considering things unholy?" Naruto said.

 **"They're the only Genin team that I have for you to leave the village with. Besides, his team is one of the most qualified."**

 **"Dammit," she muttered before sighing in defeat. "Fine, we'll join them. What's the mission?"**

 **"Your team and Guy's will be responsible for escorting the Prince of the Crescent Moon Kingdom back to his home. Expect this mission to take a minimum of one month," explained the Hokage as he tossed Anko the mission scroll. "Your teams leave in the morning."**

 **"Yes sir," saluted Anko, fighting another defeated sigh as she led her team and Grayfia out of the office. "Alright you two, get plenty of rest and make sure you have all the supplies you'll need. Long missions like this will always wear away at your stock." Both Genin nodded. "Chambermaid," she ignored Grayfia giving her a look, "you should be free to go with us since you're the gaki's personal aide. However, since I'm in charge of him, I'm also in charge of you. Understand?"**

Serafall was grinning like a loon at that, seeing the actual Grayfia clench her fists.

 **Grayfia narrowed her eyes before she nodded slowly. "For now, Mitarashi-san."**

 **"See you all tomorrow," bid the Jonin as she left.**

 **Yakumo turned to her teammate with a small smile. "Until then, Naruto."**

 **"Yea. Hope you rest well," he bid as she left. Turning to Grayfia, he asked, "Shall we get home?"**

 **"Yes, Naruto-sama. I'll be sure to prepare your things for tomorrow," she replied as they started walking home.**

 **"Thank you, Grayfia-chan. I appreciate it."**

 **She looked to him as he smiled, making her return it. "It pleases me to hear that, Naruto-sama," she returned as she grabbed his arm with both of her own, walking home arm in arm with him and leaving Naruto a blushing, stuttering mess every step of the way.**

"That's all for this chapter."


End file.
